One Timeless Choice
by VTM Potter Crazy
Summary: Sequel to One Timeless Chance. The fabric of time is delicate, intricate and intertwined. Just how much of Time's tapestry must Hermione Evans destroy before she can can weave her own? TR/HG A twist on a timeless tale.
1. Prologue: I'll Never Tell

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Well it's taken a long time but the sequel is finally up! First of all I would like to thank my wonderful beta TIADORABLE for her current and future fantastic work.**

**Next I would like to let you all know that there is a FORUM up for all your theories and questions about One Timeless Chance, A Timeless Teaser, and One Timeless Choice. There were a lot of people asking the same questions in their reviews so rather than typing the same answer over and over again the general discussion forum is up there for all of you to see!**

**Now without further adue I give you One Timeless Choice!**

**~VTM**

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Prologue: I'll Never Tell

_"Very well," he said as he raised his wand. This was it. She squeezed the object on Severus' hip and tried to set it into motion while she removed the object from Draco's back._

_"There's nothing more to say then," she said to him calmly._

_"Nothing at all," he replied. Severus' hip made a small clicking sound and she knew it wouldn't be long. She clutched to the handle of the object in her other hand tightly and waited for Riddle to make a move._

_"Goodbye Miss Evans," he whispered, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

_All three of them jumped out of the way, Severus and Draco diving for their wands as Hermione grabbed hers before leaping behind the bed and returning fire. Abraxus and the other men quickly joined the fight too and wands were all soon blazing with jets of blue and yellow and green light. Hermione had to move several times as the killing curse narrowly missed her as it shot straight through the bed._

_"Severus!" She yelled over the ferocious wand-fire, "How long?"_

_He looked down at his hip briefly as another jet of green light flew over his head before swiftly ducking behind the summoned chair and using it as a shield._

_"Thirty seconds!" He yelled back, "Be ready for it Draco!"_

_Draco nodded as he shot another spell back at Riddle and narrowly missed. Abraxus shot another at Severus and he was hit squarely in the chest by Hermione's stunner. It was just the four of them after that, lights ablazing, adrenaline running through their veins. When Severus shot her a frantic glance, Hermione knew that her time in this era was almost over. Her world seemed to slow down around her almost to a guided stop. Spells no longer soared but glided past her vision and debris appeared to float rather than shoot in all directions. She saw Severus running to get to Draco and knew that it was time to move. She stood from behind the couch and began to run towards Draco as well. It was the slowest sprint of her young life. As she finally reached them the brightest students that Hogwarts had ever seen launched their final attacks._

_Hermione launched the dagger she had detached from Draco's back straight at Riddle._

_Riddle launched the only weapon he had left._

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

He didn't see her disappear into thin air, he didn't even see the dagger that had been hurled towards him. All he could see was failure. And as the knife connected with his shoulder, as it pierced his skin and dug itself deep within his flesh and blood and bone, all he could think about was what he had lost.

A great power.

A formidable ally.

A…companion of sorts, though that one was the least of his worries.

Hermione Evans was an untapped resource, a woman who had the knowledge and, with a bit of training, power to help him realise his most unreachable dreams but if that was going to happen at all he had to control her.

Unfortunately that had proven to be a near impossible task. She had fought the mark he had placed on her arm, she didn't fall for his charms like any other girl- But what was he thinking? She wasn't like any other girl! That was both the problem and what made her so important. She wasn't daft or silly or even remotely blinded by anything he did. She was smart, decisive and cunning all the way through. She would have played him for a fool if he had let her.

But he wouldn't. That much he knew.

And now that he had come to this conclusion, he could feel the pain she had just inflicted upon him. The wound was deep, the tip almost poking through to the other side of his body, the blood running freely. He looked over at the unconscious Abraxus on the other side of the room and snarled. Why did his subordinates get to be so lucky? He grabbed a piece of rubble and hurled it at the daft blond with his good arm, allowing it to land right on his forehead, almost between his eyes. The boy stirred and Tom threw another one at him, becoming more and more irritated by the minute. Abraxus finally woke, opening his eyes slowly, taking time to remember why he was on his master's floor, covered in dust and rubble and what appeared to be blood.

"Get over here you dolt and remove this knife from my body before I curse you into oblivion," his master whispered coldly, his eyes icier than he had ever seen them before. Abraxus struggled to his feet and swayed slightly as he moved over to Tom slowly, as though trying not to collapse again. He then kneeled before him and hesitated, his hands on the hilt.

"Perhaps we should get-"

"You will get no one," Tom ordered him, his voice carrying the air of a well placed threat, "Just take it out quickly."

Abraxus took a deep breath before tightening his grip and then pulling with all his might. Tom let out a short grunt of pain and screwed his face up but didn't protest. He then took the dagger from the blond and threw it under the bed where no one would notice it.

"Go and get Gertrude, Dumbledore and Dippet before I bleed to death," he told him harshly.

"But Dumbledore would-"

"How many times must I tell you pathetic worms not to second guess my orders!" Tom roared, "GO!"

"Yes my Lord," he whispered, bowing and then departing.

Tom sat there for a while trying not to pass out from blood loss. He couldn't do that. There was no way he could rely upon Abraxus to come up with a halfway decent cover story for the mess they had made in his chambers and the disappearance of one of the school's brightest students. He had to stay awake, for his own sake he had to stay awake. It would require a monumental performance to convince even Dippet of what had happened.

The blond was back within minutes with Madam Gertrude in toe and Dumbledore, Dippet and Slughorn close behind. Gertrude immediately went to work as the others stared in awe at the damage that had been done. There was a massive hole in the wall, rubble everywhere, the fireplace was damaged beyond repair and every piece of furniture had been overturned. In short, they could tell that the battle that had preceded this mess had been hell personified.

"Merlin's beard Tom!" Dippet exclaimed, "What happened here? Where is Miss Evans?"

"Grindlewald came," he pretended to grunt at Gertrude's ministrations, "He…Took Evans…Left me for dead."

Dumbledore looked sceptical as ever but Slughorn couldn't care less what had really happened.

"Where is she now?" He asked, "Do you know where he took her?"

"No," Tom ground out, "I came in and there he was…torturing her…Told her she had- argh, no right to decimate his-his ranks like that…He just about killed her."

"Why did we not hear the wards go off?" Dumbledore asked, "How is it he came in?"

Gertrude poured potions down Tom's throat before he could answer and then stood him up, asking him how he felt and he remarked that he was much better.

"There is a vanishing cabinet," he told them gravely after a while, still pretending to be out of breath, "It is on the fifth floor behind the portrait of Sir Codagon. Grindlewald has the counterpart. He used it to enter the castle and take care of her…"

At his words he proceeded to make his breathing shorter and let his face fall into anguish and pain.

"It should have been me," he whispered, "He should have taken me."

"Oh Tom," Slughorn came forward and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders, "I'm so sorry, I know what she meant to you."

As Slughorn comforted him Dumbledore stared at the great actor while Dippet made a fire call to the ministry to alert them of what was going on. Tom knew that Dumbledore would not believe him no matter how well he played it. Dumbledore was a lost cause and he had resigned himself to that fact many years ago when he had first met the old fool. But the look on his face at the moment showed nothing but uncertainty. Uncertainty but most of all fear.

"Armando," he suddenly said, making Dippet pull his head out of the fireplace, "You will have to grant me a month's leave I am afraid."

"But-but Dumbledore the castle has just been attacked, a student has been taken! I can't possibly allow you-"

"It is for those very reasons you must allow me to leave," he told him firmly, "I'm going to find and retrieve Miss Evans."

Tom stiffened at this but managed to keep his cool and look upon the future Headmaster with appraising eyes. With those final words and without waiting for confirmation from Dippet, Dumbledore left the rooms hurriedly. Gertrude then proceeded to order Tom and Abraxus up to the Hospital Wing where Dippet and Slughorn followed them closely behind. Tom was not surprised to see Eileen sit up in her bed, sipping on a cup of hot cocoa that had been conjured for her as well as a frantic Druella fussing over a now only half bandaged Cygnus who was fighting his way out of bed. He was in no state to be moving but it was clear he was eager to try and get out of the Hospital Wing for whatever reason. Tom could certainly guess what it was.

He was promptly told off by the nurse and shoved back in bed just as Druella had told him to be. The air was thick with tension as the five students in the room glared at one another for various reasons.

Druella glared at Cygnus for ignoring her earlier orders and then glared at Tom and Abraxus for putting him there in the first place.

Cygnus glared at Druella for ordering him around, but only half heartedly, and then at Tom and Abraxus for putting him in there and for whatever they had done to Eileen and Hermione.

Eileen glared at Druella and Cygnus for not being able to shut up and making her headache worse than it was, she then glared at Abraxus for his betrayal of her trust and putting her in the Hospital Wing and then at Tom for whatever he had done to Hermione.

Abraxus glared at Cygnus for glaring at him, at Druella for being such a mess and didn't even look at Eileen.

Tom just glared at the lot of them for their idiocy.

As the afternoon wore on, so did the silence. They sat there for hours as Gertrude did her best to heal them and said nothing. But the silence was louder than any words could be. It wasn't until well after midnight that Gertrude finally departed for her own quarters, giving them all a firm warning that if they didn't go to sleep straight away she would know. She had tried to order Druella out but she plainly refused to leave and threatened that if the Mediwitch sent for anyone else she would curse them both and laugh as she did it. Gertrude had learned long ago not to doubt the word of a Slytherin and so she left her there by Cygnus' side.

That was when it began. The moment the doors were closed and Gertrude was out of earshot, four wands were drawn and aimed in all directions.

"You, Prince, are going to suffer for what you did to me," Tom seethed.

"And you, Riddle, are going to die a horrible death for everything you did to Hermione Evans," she hissed back.

"Eileen just back off-"

"No, not this time Malfoy," she sneered, "I'm not afraid of him anymore and now I realise I never should have been in the first place. He has had power over my life long enough."

"Eileen's right," Druella sneered, "I'm sick of him telling us all what to do, thinking we're all beneath him. I've had it! I won't let him hurt us anymore!"

"And what are you going to do about it Rosier?" Tom smirked, "Attempt to put make up on me?"

"I'll do more than make your face pretty Riddle," she spat, going to cast a spell but her arm was caught by a surprisingly strong Cygnus. He had managed to get himself out of bed long enough to stop the impending fight.

"Stop," he rasped, "All of you."

Druella instantly dropped her wand and went to place him back in bed but he wouldn't let her. Eileen kept her eyes and wand trained on Riddle and Riddle did the same. Out of all of them she was the biggest threat in the room. Abraxus faltered in his resolve slightly but did not lower his wand.

"The last thing any of us needs is a fight," Cygnus continued, "You may have been able to explain your way out of disaster today Riddle, but how would you explain three cursed students in a locked Hospital wing?"

Tom hated to admit it but the cripple had a point.

"He wouldn't get that far," Eileen sneered, "I'd turn him into a tea cosy before he got anywhere near any of us."

"I'd like to see you try," Riddle growled.

"Alright th- ah!"

A jet of light flew across the room before Eileen could do anything else and her wand flew from her hands and was caught gracefully by Abraxus.

"Enough," he told her, "You can't take him Eileen. You know it."

"Then I'll die trying!" She screamed at him, "You as well! Give me back my wand before I tear you apart!"

"And just how are you going to do that when you have no weapon Prince?" Tom rolled his eyes.

"Quite easily," she spat as she pulled several potions from her pockets, "You remember what I did my father's drug dealer, don't you Riddle?"

Tom stiffened considerably. He did remember quite vividly what this witch was capable of with a steady cauldron and a few simple ingredients. It seemed that Abraxus did too as his face contorted into an expression of horror in the moonlight.

"Not so tough now are you?" She sneered, "You have no idea what I'm carrying inside this vial, no way of knowing what could happen if you used your wand on it and now you have no idea of what to do. Well I have news for you Riddle, nothing can stop this potion from doing it's worst, not even you."

"Eileen please-"

"And you can shut it too!" She yelled at Abraxus, "You're going to meet the same fate as well! I guarantee it!"

"Eileen stop!" Cygnus yelled at her, "Think about what you're doing!"

"That's right Prince," Riddle sneered, "I have the entire castle eating out of the palm of my hand except for you three. How do you think they would take it if they found me dead in the morning? They've already lost their beloved Italian soldier…You can forget going to Azkaban, you'd be dead within hours."

"I don't care," she growled, "I couldn't care less about going to prison or being murdered by your minions! It would all be worth it just to see your pathetic head severed from your body and rolling before my feet!"

"Unfortunately for you Prince that will never happen," Tom told her, "I'll tell you something that will happen though. You, at my feet, begging for mercy before I kill you with my own cold hands. I will make you scream before the end."

If she hadn't been so angry, if she hadn't been so fired up she would have felt a chill run up her spine. She knew that she had now been placed in the number one spot on his hit list but for it all she didn't care. He had reigned over her long enough and for the first time in her life she felt her first taste of real self-control, real power.

Then her anger seemed to dissipate. She suddenly felt calm, eerily so. For a moment she thought that Riddle or Abraxus or even Cygnus had cast some kind of spell on her but then she realised that this was all her own doing.

It was then that she smiled at him.

"You're scared," she said quietly, "That's why you drew your wand, that's why you stand here with your lackey making threats at me. You are scared."

Tom narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing and so she went on.

"If I was no threat to you then you would have stayed in your bed, waited for me to attack you and then claimed innocence in the morning if you somehow won," she told him, "But you are frightened of me now because I am no longer frightened of you. You can't bully me anymore, you can't laud some life debt over my head and now you don't know what to do."

"Shut it Prince," he spat.

"I don't think so Riddle," she almost laughed, "Haven't you been listening? I'm not afraid of you anymore! In fact I should probably be thanking you! You've just given me my first taste of real freedom and you know what…" she put her potions away, "That means more to me than your corpse ever will."

The others all stared at her in confusion, Abraxus most of all who had never seen her act this way. He and Cygnus had known her a long time, been friends with her for so long that they were probably the only people who knew her well and they had never seen her change emotions so drastically.

With a ghostly smile she walked over to Cygnus, not taking her eyes from Tom until she wrapped her arms around him and Druella at the same time.

"Take care of yourselves," she told them both, "Be happy together and don't let this great prick ruin your lives."

To their surprise it was Abraxus who spoke.

"What are you doing?" He asked her with shocked eyes as she strode over to the doors.

"What does it look like, idiot?" She countered.

"Y-you can't leave!" He exclaimed, grasping at straws, "I have your wand!"

"Honestly don't you read?" She rolled her eyes in the most Hermione-ish fashion, "You just disarmed me and caught it without letting it touch the floor. It doesn't belong to me anymore. Besides, there are others out there I can use."

They all looked at her completely horrified apart from Tom who looked murderous. This was the second time today that he was going to lose something of his and there wasn't a god damn thing he could do about it!

"Why on earth would I stay?" Eileen laughed, "There's nothing keeping me here anymore."

She looked over at Tom who was breathing so heavily she could have shot him in the dark.

"Nothing," she whispered before turning around and blasting the doors off their hinges with one of her potions, "I'll see you all in hell when retribution finally catches up with me for my sins."

And with that, she walked out of the room and out of their lives. Her ghostly smile stayed planted on her lips until she reached the Hogwarts gates and left the school behind forever…well, at least until her son would come along. It had taken a lot of thinking inside the hospital wing to figure out what had really been happening when Leopold had been explaining to her where he was from and what he, Hermione and Draco were there to do. But she had finally figured out that even though the man was blond he still had the Prince characteristics that her mother had always taught her to value. The dark eyes, the pale skin and the general aura of power and authority all belonged to her family.

If she could take comfort from anything that had come her way in the last forty eight hours it was the fact that she had raised a beautiful son that would end up on the right side, no matter how long it took him to get there.

* * *

It had taken far too long for Tom's liking for Madam Gertrude to release them from the Hospital Wing but there really was nothing he could do about it. After Eileen had departed so unexpectedly she had been completely hell bent upon making sure that even the slightest sniffle was cured before they were all allowed the time to leave.

Upon his release Tom was given Hermione Evans' old quarters in place of his own for the rest of the school year where there was still nothing but rubble and dust present where his glorious head boy rooms once stood. He roamed around the rooms for hours, taking in her possessions that she had left behind and snooping through all the unwarded drawers and closet openings. Even though she had moved herself into his quarters before Christmas he realised that she had kept these ones in tact and stocked in case she ever needed to escape from him for an evening.

Either that or she used it to hide her uncle and Malone, he thought irately. It still bothered him that such a chit of a woman had fooled him so greatly. It still bothered him that such a woman had fooled him so greatly that she had now slipped from his grasp entirely and would never return. He was no fool, he knew there would never be another like her, so cunning, so talented, almost his equal in every way…

Before long he found himself wondering back to his own rooms and investigating the rubble once more. He hadn't had time to do so before Dumbledork and the others had arrived. Amongst the over turned furniture he found quite a few things that held his interest. A piece of cloth with her blood on it, some of her old clothing that Prince had stripped from her before laying her in the bed to rest…what was most interesting of all though were two pieces of parchment that had been left and forgotten on the floor by the bed.

He read them both carefully…

_Dear Miss Evans_

_Although you may be frightened by this message I must implore you not to be. I do not mean for this to strike fear in your heart nor hinder whatever mission you may be on. I simply ask that you meet me at Florien Fortescue's Ice-cream shop at One o'clock on Sunday the 23rd of December to discuss your current predicament._

_I hope very much that this letter finds you well and that I may be able to help you in some way._

_Kind Regards_

A Friend

The first was no shock to him. It was obvious that from the way Ollivander had looked at her that day he had given her the new wand that he knew something was amiss. He would recognise that tiny script anywhere and Ollivander was the only one daft enough to approach someone who was on a mission and offer to help at the risk of having his head sliced off. It only made sense. What didn't make sense was why he hadn't signed his name. He would have to find out later on whether Hermione actually attended this meeting or not.

It was the second letter that caught his eye…

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Thirty Six, Spinner's End._

Despite his name, Tom had never been a fan of Riddles and this one was no exception. He quickly stuffed both inside his pockets before diving beneath the bed to retrieve the blade he had cast under there earlier in the week. It was now stained with his blackened blood right to the hilt but the gold still shone through as he placed it in the sunlight.

"Searching for clues Tom?"

He swung around quickly only to see Albus Dumbledore staring at him coldly from the doorway.

"You're back so soon Professor?" He asked politely, "Did you find her?"

"I think you and I both know that answer to that question Tom," Dumbledore told him, "I was hopeful that you weren't lying to us when you recounted your tale. I was hopeful that Grindlewald had taken her…"

"I know what I saw Professor," Tom protested calmly.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, "She was a brilliant witch wasn't she? I daresay she was just as smart as you Tom, though she might be lacking in a few areas she still had the potential."

"Why is it you talk of her in the past tense Professor?" Tom asked him, "Did you find her body at Grindlewald's strong hold?"

"No Tom," he said quietly, "I didn't."

"Then how do you know that she's dead?"

"The same way I know that your father and grandparents are dead, Tom," Dumbledore told him, "The same way I know that Professor Callus is dead."

Tom suddenly lost his air of politeness and openly glared at the future headmaster and Transfiguration teacher.

"Go on you old fool," he said quietly, leering at him, "Say it."

"What did you do to her Tom?" Dumbledore asked him quietly. Tom smirked evilly and walked past his teacher to the door and as he walked out for the last time he spoke so softly that not even a whisper could describe his tenor.

"I'll never tell."


	2. It's Only the Beginning

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**I'm rather reluctant to post this chapter, I really honestly am because I know that at least a few of you are going to stop reading from this chapter onwards and I really don't want that to happen. The only thing I can really as is that you guys have faith in me and believe me when I say that all will be right by the end of the trilogy.**

**Please have faith and don't kill me guys.**

**~VTM**

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Chapter One: It's only the beginning

Albus Dumbledore patrolled the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with smile set upon his face. The school year had just begun with the sun out to greet the new students and welcome back the old. Albus had a feeling spreading through his entire body as he watched his students out on the grounds and in the hallways laughing and practicing their craft, that this year was going to be a very good one.

"...Shouldn't have done it! He's going to get back at you one day James."

"Oh please Mooney. This is Snivellus we're talking about here."

"Yeah, besides, that pink really did suit him."

"Shut up Sirius!"

"Oh lighten up Mooney!"

"Next time we should add a Babbling Beverage!"

"Peter!"

"Never new you had it in you mate!"

"Nice thinking Peter!"

"You're all barbaric."

"And you wouldn't have them any other way Mr Lupin," Albus finally intervened, "Though I think that Mr. Snape would."

Sirius' and James' eyes widened at the sight of the Headmaster and Peter practically quivered before him while Remus just stood there shaking his head. The Headmaster smiled at the four seventeen year old boys. They had been trouble makers ever since the day they had met, well, more Sirius and James than the other two but that was beside the point. They had a special bond between them that just attracted mischief, mayhem and trouble where ever they went and they didn't mind it in the slightest. Sirius practically lived, breathed and ate it. No matter how much Remus berated them for almost getting him into trouble he loved it just as much as they did and Peter was just happy to be included. James however, was the antagonist. He started it all and every teacher inside the castle knew it.

"P-P-Professor Dumbledore, we were just-" Peter stuttered but Albus held up his hand to silence him.

"You will receive a month's detention with Professor McGonagall for your practical joke," he told them and they all groaned as he turned away, however their faces brightened when he said, "And yes, that pink really was lovely. I might use it for this year's Christmas cards to the staff."

He heard the young boys snicker and he smiled as he moved in the opposite direction. He had taken all of five steps when he heard great cries coming from the Great Hall.

~O~

She landed hard against the cold stone floor, blood oozing from her many wounds and a groan escaping her lips as she tried to hold herself up on her hands and knees and failed. She toppled over onto her side once more, the blood stained bed sheet she used as clothing almost coming undone with the stress it had gone through in the past few minutes. She coughed several times as more blood came up from her stomach and spilled onto the floor. She took a few deep breaths before trying to sit up again, managing to lean herself against the staff table and close her eyes in exhaustion.

She had no idea what era she was in but it didn't matter. She was away from Riddle…at least for now. She had a feeling that he would pop up some time soon and try to ruin everything she worked for and all plans would be laid to waste. Not that they hadn't been already. Curse her underestimation of him! She should have known that he would have been watching the entire time! She should have known that he would have known what she was up to! He was just- No, she should have known, end of story. If anything had gone wrong in getting them out of there it was her fault, no one else's.

She heard a loud crash emit from somewhere at the back of the hall where a table cloth had just been pulled from the its Gryffindor lodgings. A shaky Severus emerged from behind a bench, bloodied and bruised just as she was and all together just as exhausted. When his eyes met hers across the room however it seemed he had all the energy in the world. He almost ran in her direction…he limped really but it was still a quick limp over all.

But his gaze severely contradicted his actions.

"Are you injured?" He said in a business like tone, as he checked over her, giving her his outer robes to cover her practically naked body.

"Not terminally," she whispered back, "Just exhausted."

He nodded curtly as he picked her up and she coughed at little more.

"I'll take you to the hospital wing and we can treat you there-"

"Where's Draco?" She asked him quietly.

"We'll find him after we get you to the hospital wing," he told her firmly. He then proceeded to walk back down the isle to the hall doors. She rested her head against his chest in exhaustion, small tears leaking from her eyes.

"I'm sorry I got caught," she whispered, "I was getting so confused, I just needed some help…"

He said nothing.

"I should have just kept everything to myself, I should have-"

"Stop that ridiculous rambling and-"

He cut himself short for some reason and looked away from her to the floor. He had kicked something, something that obviously wasn't supposed to be there. Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder to see. It was an arm, clad in an expensive black silk sleeve, limp, lifeless.

Severus dropped her, she landed on her knees and crawled to the body, ignoring the pain that was now soaring through her joints. And there he was, pale as ever, eyes wide open in fear, lifeless, gone.

Dead.

She screamed when she saw him, pulled his body out from under the table with Severus' help. They began working on healing spells trying to close his wounds but all the while they knew it was no use. She screamed over and over again, tears flooding her eyes as she tried so hard to save him. But he was lost…

_Hermione launched the dagger she had detached from Draco's back straight at Riddle._

_Riddle launched the only weapon he had left._

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

It was meant for her! She was the one meant to be on the floor! Not him! Anyone but him! How dare he do this to her! He wasn't allowed to die! He just wasn't!  
They could both distantly hear the doors to the Great Hall opening, people entering and almost screaming as loud as she was but none of them stepped forward to help. It was then that she felt familiar hands on her shoulders.

"Come away Hermione," Albus said to her, "There is nothing you can do for him now. Come away."

But she didn't want to leave him. She had to stay with him, help him, and heal him, just as he would have done for her. Severus was having the same trouble convincing the woman who had tried to pull him away as well.

"Let go of me!" He roared, "I will not stand by and do nothing!"

"There is nothing you can do," McGonagall told him patiently, "Come back with us."

They struggled and they fought until they were hauled off of the body entirely. Hermione screamed for them to let her go but they wouldn't. They managed to get them both out of the hall and once they did her exhaustion took hold once more. She collapsed to the floor in crying heap. Once Severus shook off his captors too he began to pace angrily around the Entrance Hall. He then fired curse after curse at the doors and the walls to try and relieve the anger that he felt. When cursing was no longer enough he slammed his fist into the nearest stone wall and let out a sharp groan of pain.

There they stood, two time travelers lost in their grief, two teachers with sympathetic eyes, a head boy and head girl, all of them confused and worried.

"Lily, James," Albus finally said after a while, "Guide the students back to their houses. Tell them they are not to leave their common rooms."

"Yes Professor," they said together before hurrying off. Lily lingered by Hermione's side for a few moments however and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for you loss," she whispered before departing.

Minerva McGonagall then stepped towards Severus, tried to comfort him but he shook her off again. He instead went over to Hermione who Albus was trying to console to no avail. He picked her up again and began to walk out the door when Albus stepped in front of him.

"Stay Severus," he told him, "Let us help you."

"How do you know my name?" Severus spat at him.

"My boy I've been teaching you for the last seven years, known you for the last ten," Albus smiled at him kindly, "How could I not? I daresay that Eileen would know that it's you that stands before her now that her son has been in this world for the last seventeen years."

A look of absolute shock coated Severus' features as he stared at the older man and then looked down at the girl in his arms.

"What did you set the time turner to?" He asked her abruptly.

"I don't know," she answered quietly, "I just made it go forward, I didn't know what year I just…"

He shook his head.

"It was our only way out," he huffed.

"Didn't work though did it," she whispered bitterly. Despite his cold demeanor he seemed to hug her closer to him, something that she had become accustomed to in the past few months that she had spent away from her own time. She distantly wondered if things would change back to the way they were once they managed to find a way back but couldn't dwell on it. It would never be the same again no matter what happened and she didn't want to think about what the future held now without Draco in it…

"Please Severus," Albus implored him again, "Come up to the hospital wing, get yourselves checked over and then come to my office for a lemon drop or two."

Severus looked uneasy for several moments before looking down at Hermione. She was battered, bruised, exhausted and who knew what kind of after effects the spell Riddle put on her would have. She may have fought it off but it was by no means gone. He could see it in her eyes that she could feel it too, the cold presence of power rippling through her body, threatening to take control at her weakest moments. It would be best to have her checked over at least, to make sure there was no immediate danger. He gave a curt nod to the older man and they were lead away to the top floors of the castle to receive medical treatment.

Poppy was all in a flutter when she saw the two of them walk in. She immediately began to shove potions down their throats and cast spells on their wounds. The one thing that each of them refused to do however, was swallow the pain killer solution that the medi witch seemed to have on tap.

"You won't be able to rest if you don't take away the pain!" She implored them.  
Hermione just shook her head and Severus swatted the woman out of his way. Hermione herself had refused to be placed in a bed and was in a chair next to the man who she had forced onto the hospital property.

"We need to stay awake," she muttered to all who bothered to try and listen, "If we take those then we'll fall asleep. We don't know what the consequences will be for what we've done."

"Perhaps now would be a good time to elaborate on that," Minerva said from the corner.  
Poppy looked at Dumbledore who indicated for her to leave. She did so grudgingly, leaving the pain potion on Severus' bedside table. Hermione looked at her fallen comrade, silently asking him how much she should tell.

"We can't change anything," he told her, "We can't meddle with what's already happened, with what will happen. It could make things worse for us."

"It's already worse," she whispered to him, "What more could possibly go wrong?"

She held her wand up to him for the first time since she had acquired it and saw his eyes widen. She began glistening with tears once more as she followed the damage that had been inflicted upon the valuable stick of wood. There was no way it could be used again now.

"It chose another," she told him, "And now it's damaged beyond repair because of it. There's no way that he's going to survive without it, not in the graveyard, not in the ministry…We've already destroyed the future that was made for us, there's no point in trying to fix it. We have to create our own destinies now."

"Bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time-"

"Bad things have already happened!" She suddenly burst out, "We've changed peoples' lives! Put them in danger," she looked down at the floor again, "Lost someone very dear to us."

Severus looked away from her then and refused to meet her eyes. She knew he was feeling guilty, like it was all his fault. He had been the one to send them back after all, he was the one who chose to ignore Dumbledore's warnings…but he couldn't think like that. Not now. Not when he was needed the most.

She got up from her chair and sat on the bed next to him.

"You're right," she whispered, "We can't change the past…but the future is never entirely set in stone."

He seemed to think about it for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. It was a rather unpleasant sight really, Severus Snape unsure. He had always been the pinnacle of knowledge and decisiveness in her life, always there with a plan to carry out, some kind of task in mind and now after all this time he was unsure of how to proceed. It was definitely a frightening sight indeed. Hermione decided to push that little bit further.

"You don't always have to make the decisions Severus," she told him, "Let me take over for now."

"You could get us all killed for this," he told her, "Or even worse, fed to the dementors."

"Is that really any worse than what we would have to face if we went back home?" She asked him, "Is it really any worse than what we would deal with if we went back to where we started?"

He seemed to think some more before giving her the slightest of nods. If she wanted to take over, to tell them everything…she now had his permission to proceed. With that, she turned her attention to the two older people in the room and sighed.

"You may wish to take a seat," she said, "This could take a while and might be a bit of a shock."

And it was. By the end of her story McGonagall was gaping like a fish and Dumbledore held an expression that clearly said he had a lot of thinking to do. Severus and Hermione sat there patiently and waited for some kind of response from their two most trusted advisors and when they received none, Hermione felt that it was best to speak first.

"We realize that this is a lot to take in," she told them, "And we know that we shouldn't have told you anything at all, but we are at our wits end here. We've lost one of our most trusted friends on this journey, we've suffered greatly at the hands of the Dark Lord even before he became the Dark Lord and now we stand before you, humbled and frightened and ask for your help."

"Merlin," McGonagall whispered, "I'd always known there was something off about you in school but never did I dream…I was only a second year at the time and it never occurred to me to…"

Dumbledore sighed.

"There is nothing we can do to undo what has already been done," he said cryptically, "Your past has been changed, or rather Tom's past has been changed, and therefore so has his future. We on the sidelines must simply wait and see how this plays out from now on."

"So you'll do absolutely nothing then?" Severus spat, "Like always you will sit in your high seat above the violence and the suffering and watch with all superiority-"

"My dear boy you are not listening to me," Dumbledore said quietly, "We may not help you with your time travel. That is your task, not ours. However should anything arise that time travel does not take priority over we shall certainly be of assistance. For instance, finding Miss Evans some clothes and tending to all your wounds…there is no consequence that would prohibit us from that."

"So if we are really honest with ourselves we can't change anything until we find out what has already been changed." Hermione whispered to herself before speaking up to the rest of them, "If that is the case then it seems we have need to visit some old friends…or rather I have a need to visit some very new ones."

"Do you really think that wise?" Severus asked her.

"At the very least I should see if Cygnus is even alive," she told him with a sharp look, "It's because of me he was landed in the hospital wing in the first place."

"There is an easier way to see if he is alive or not," he told her, "Ask either of them if Bellatrix, Narcissa or Andromeda Black attend this school and you will have your answer."

Hermione blinked for a few seconds before turning to the headmaster.

"I'm pleased to inform you that all three of those girls did attend this school," Dumbledore smiled, "Bellatrix and Narcissa in Slytherin house and Andromeda in Ravenclaw. Their parents Cygnus and Druella Black donate regularly to the school's fund for the underprivileged."

"There is your answer," Severus told her.

"That also means that he was released from Tom's service," she whispered to him, "It also means that he is possibly still-"

"No," Severus snapped at her, "You are not going to see him and you will not disturb my mother either! We will leave them be, get back to our own time and fix this mess ourselves!"

"What is the point in going back to our own time when we have nothing left to go back to!" She screamed at him, "We have a golden opportunity here-"

"We had a golden opportunity before and you blew it!" He sneered, making her draw back from him in shock. The other teachers in the room seemed to do the same. He sneered at them all before removing himself from the bed and walking away from them, out of the hospital wing without another word. McGonagall went to follow him but Hermione stopped her.

"Let him go," she shook her head, "He needs time to think."

"He can't just walk out after saying such a thing-"

"He didn't mean it," she told her, "Not really. He's frustrated and angry and he really thinks that this is all his fault. Plus being in this time really doesn't help."

Minerva still looked uncertain but it was Dumbledore who consoled her.

"He will be back when he is ready," he told her, "You and I both know how stubborn he can be."

~O~

Many miles away from where Hermione and her companions had landed a woman sat on her doorstep tending to fresh bruises and cuts that had been given to her only moments ago. She had watched with glee as her husband had stumbled out the door in a drunken rage after she had refused to…tend to him. She had watched as he pulled his keys from the coffee table and driven the car off down the road.

She hoped he crashed and died a very painful death.

It wasn't usually something you would say about your husband but she said it everyday. She said it as she made breakfast for him, as she did his laundry, as she made their bed, as she served him dinner, as she cleaned his house, as she did his dishes and as she slept next to him at night. Most of all she said it as she said it at times like these, where she sat out in the sun and dealt to her cuts and bruises that he gave her. It wasn't much of a hastle really, being a witch did help. The only problem was that she couldn't deal back to him without using magic and that was of course illegal.

Some days she wondered what had made her choose him in the first place but then she realized that it hadn't been that way in the beginning. He had been charming and sweet and kind but as soon as he had that ring on her finger it all changed. The one thing she could say she was grateful for was the beautiful son he had given her. She thanked Merlin every time he wasn't home to see her this way. Then again her husband didn't think much of him either. She thought of it as an annoyance really, the way he would hit her with all his muggle might but her son was always enraged by it. He had tried to fight back on occasion but she had always held him back, knowing that his temper would not scream at him to use magic.

Just as she cast the last of her bruises away and swallowed a potion for the pain there was a crack from the bushes in front of her. She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly who it was and what he was there for.

"I thought the mudblood would never leave," he said as he came out and dusted himself off, "Why do you stay with the idiot? You obviously don't love him."

"Because I'm just as stubborn as you are," she replied, "Why do you stay with your wife? You obviously don't love her and your father is dead. He can't say anything about it now."

"Matter of principle," he told her, "Malfoys don't get divorced."

Eileen Snape rolled her eyes at him. She may have loved him once, she probably still did, but she would never be able to get over the Malfoy rules. One set for them and another for everyone else.

"What does he want this time Abraxus?" She asked him, "I've already told him, he can't have my son."

"He knows he has to wait for that," he told her as he joined her on the patio, "He'll wait until Severus is out of school and then-"

"And then my days are numbered," she laughed, "I already know all his plans concerning my son and I'll tell you right now, none of them will work."

"And how are you so certain of that?" He asked her with a scoff, "You and I have watched him grow into what he is. You know the kind of power he holds."

"You can tell Tom straight from me," she said with smile full of secrets, "My son will go blond before he's ever a true Death Eater."

Abraxus just looked at her as though she'd gone mad but that was nothing unusual these days.

"He's willing to wait as long as it takes for Severus," he told her, "But he's not why I'm here."

She raised her eyebrows.

"I take it you remember Hermione Evans?" He asked her.

A great shock went down Eileen's spine as she stared at her former lover. That was a name she hadn't heard in over thirty years and she had hoped that the next time it found her ears it would have come from someone different. But her Prince genes kept her in check and she got a hold of herself quickly.

"What about her?" She asked.

"He seems to think that she's back in the country with her Uncle Leopold. Not sure about her fiancé though," Abraxus told her, "Apparently there are records saying he was killed at the front all those years back."

"Nice to know but what does all this have to do with me?" She asked curtly.

"He thinks that if Hermione goes to anyone while she's here it'll either be you or Dumbledore."

She laughed.

"He's still running on that theory is he?" She asked, "That she was one of Dumbledore's stooges sent to go and get rid of him? Or does he still think that she was trying to steal his glory?"

"It doesn't matter what he really thinks," he told her, "Not to you anyway. If she comes to you, he wants to know."

She scoffed.

"He'll leave Severus be if you hand her over."

Now he had her attention. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't believe you." She snarled, standing from her seat and walking. He followed her inside her house and persisted. He would really get in trouble if he didn't find some kind of common ground with her.

"He's willing to-"

"I don't give a damn what he is willing to do!" she roared as they reached her kitchen, almost hitting him as she swung around to face him, "Not once has he ever done right by me or my son! Why on earth would he start now?"

"You know what Hermione meant to him," he told her, grabbing her by the arms, almost trying to shake sense into her, "You know what she represented to him."

"Yeah, everything he is now!" She said as she struggled from his grip, "He couldn't have gotten much further with her by his side-"

"He doesn't see it that way!" He yelled as he knocked her into the kitchen counter and held her there, "Think about it Eileen! This is your chance to save both you and your son! If he had her then he wouldn't need Severus, he wouldn't have to spite you, everything that happened thirty years ago would be forgiven and you could walk through Diagon Alley or St Mungo's without fear of being attacked by Death Eaters in disguise!"

"I don't have any fear when it comes to him," she sneered, "Not anymore."

"That's why you married the muggle then is it?" He spat back, "That's why you hide here under hundreds of charms and spells to keep anything magical out?"

"You're here aren't you?" She quipped.

"Only because of the Fidelius charm you placed on me that night we-"

"Shut up!" She told him, "I had to do what was best for my son and after that mistake-"

"It wasn't a mistake and you know it," he told her, "You know it just as much as I do and if you would just stop being so stubborn and divorce Snape and come back to me-"

"To be your whore?" She laughed bitterly, "I'm better than that and you know it. I would be able to divorce Tobias if I wanted to but you; you would never leave Lestrange would you? Dearest Miala would never survive."

"He could order me to kill you at any moment Eileen!" He roared at her, "Just because he can't end it himself doesn't mean he can't send me to do it and I would have to, just to protect my own family!"

"And he knows just as much as I do that if he ever laid a finger on me, yours or his, Severus would never go near him," she smiled, "I'm everything to that boy, I'm all he's got and Tom knows it."

"Eileen you've backed yourself into a corner," he whispered desperately, "One of three things are going to happen here. Either he finds Hermione without your help and he doesn't need Severus anymore, in which case you're dead; or he finds a way to get around the fact that Severus loves you in which case you're dead; or you take this deal, hand over Hermione, he doesn't need Severus anymore in which case-"

"I'm dead anyway," she laughed again, "Face it Abraxus he isn't going to keep any promises concerning me unless it's to have me killed. I'm not going to get out of this alive. I've made my peace with it, it's time to make yours."

She gave an almighty shove, making him stumble and she walked over to the door, holding it open for him with a smirk.

"Now get out of my house," she told him firmly, "And don't come back unless it's to tell me that Miala's chest has finally exploded and her nose has fallen off."

He closed his eyes and shook his head before walking out her door without another word.

"And you can tell your lord to go fuck himself," she yelled after him, slamming her door shut and retiring to the living room to watch some T.V.


	3. Preparations Made

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Hey guys, I'm posting this a hell of a lot earlier than what I had planed however I've had so many people tell me that they don't hate me for the last chapter so I got up the confidence to post another one. It's a little confusing really but I have faith that you guys will get it.**

**ALSO! Just a reminder that the forum is still up and can be accessed through my profile. For those of you who have questions or theories, head over there! ESPECIALLY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS! I don't know if you can access the forum or not but if you can, please post your questions there so I can actually answer them.  
**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Two: Preparations made

She watched them bring Draco's body up that very afternoon and though she wanted nothing more than to look away she stood there and witnessed the effects of what she had done. It was her fault; no one else's and she knew it. She didn't' need Severus or Dumbledore or anyone else to tell her otherwise.

She sat with him after that, by his bedside as though he were only sick or injured in someway, simply unconscious and unable to respond. She sat there with him and she spoke to him as she would have at any other time, in any other situation. She held his hand and patted his hair and fluffed his pillows just as she normally would have. But deep down she knew he would never answer or say thank you or do anything at all.

He was gone. That's all there was to it and there was nothing she could do to change it, not now, not ever.

It was only when Dumbledore walked in that she stopped her ministrations.

"He's not coming back," he told her quietly.

"I know," she said without looking at him. She fought to contain her sobbing out of pure rebellion but was failing despite her efforts. Her grief was just too strong to hold in.

"There is nothing you can do."

"I know."

"Then why do you tend to his pillows? Wait for a response?"

"Because however gone he may be, he is a human being," she told him bitingly, "What do you want?"

"I would like you to please join me in my office Hermione," he told her with a sympathetic smile, "Severus is there now. We have a few things to address if you are to stay here."

"We aren't staying here," she told him, "As soon as our injuries are tended to we are leaving again. Severus made that rather clear. I think he'll obliviate you before we go as well."

"I think you had best come with me," Dumbledore told her regardless of her response.

She looked at him for a few moments but said nothing as she stood from her seat, kissed Draco's forehead and made her way over to the old headmaster. Somewhere in between the time they had arrived and getting their wounds checked out, Dumbledore had managed to find Hermione and Severus some clothes to wear while they were in this time. She had to say that she loved having a pair of sneakers back to wear rather than high heels every minute of the day. It was a welcome change.

They walked in silence for what seemed like an age, neither asking the questions they wished to ask, neither feeling the need to disturb the awkward distance between them. Hermione knew for sure that this was at least her fault. She had shoved the headmaster in the other direction, if anything, to protect herself and now she had to pay the price for that protection. She couldn't have risked Dumbledore knowing anything when she was wondering aimlessly in 1945. It could have changed far too much for the worse and very little for the best. Because she knew her headmaster's skill for manipulation, she knew his ease in using it and she knew that if he had known then what he knew now things could have turned out very differently.

Once they reached his office she peered hesitantly inside to see Severus slumped in one of the headmaster's chairs, eyes bloodshot, robes torn, certain wounds and cuts reopened from when they had previously been healed that morning. He didn't even look up when they entered the room and instead chose to look at the floor. Hermione took a deep breath and wordlessly approached him, sitting in the chair next to his, biting her bottom lip nervously as she gazed at his shattered form. It was then that he did something she did not expect. He lifted his bloodied right hand and silently placed it over the top of hers. As far as she was concerned it would be the closest thing to an apology that she would ever get. She therefore took his hand in both of hers and squeezed comfortingly. It was the closest thing to an acceptance that he would ever receive.

With their silent conversation over she cleared up his wounds as much as she could by using his wand and once she was certain he wasn't going to collapse in the middle of this impromptu meeting she turned back to Dumbledore signaling for him to begin.

"It appears," he said slowly, "That you will be staying here longer than expected."

She looked at him confusedly but noted that Severus looked as though he was completely in the loop. It was then that Severus withdrew the time turner that had been held in his care…in two pieces. She paled at the sight of the broken object.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"We can only assume that the impact of our landing was too much for it," he told her quietly, his voice croaky and harsh without meaning to be.

"Well we can't stay here!" She almost yelled, becoming hysterical in seconds, "Especially not at the castle! There are people here that we know! People that are the parents of people we know! And Severus is here! The younger one! Imagine the damage that could be inflicted upon the continuum if they-"

"Miss Evans please calm yourself," Dumbledore silenced her quietly, "The fact remains, regardless of the danger, that you have nowhere else to go. The castle is the safest place for you and the easiest hiding place from the Dark Lord Voldemort."

Ah yes, how could she possibly have forgotten Tom. What with the little display that she and Severus had put on for the students this morning there was no doubt in her mind that the young and aspiring Death Eaters had already run off to tell their master or a trustworthy agent of his anyway. There was no way after thirty years or so that Tom hadn't figured out where she was really from. If she knew him, and she felt that she really did know him best out of anyone on the planet, he would have gone looking for any evidence of Lieutenant Hermione Evans of Italy and would have found nothing. He would have obsessed over it for years until it finally clicked that she was not from that time era. Her demeanor, obvious out of place strength of will and seemingly higher intelligence than most of the women from his time should really have given him a clue. He had always stated that she was out of the ordinary.

"As for the continuum," Dumbledore went on, "I feel we have nothing to worry about in this department."

"What on earth makes you say that?" She almost screeched at him, "Severus' younger version is in this time. If we so much as put one foot-"

"He was also in the Great Hall when you arrived today," Dumbledore told her.

Her eyes widened in fear but she said nothing.

"And nothing has happened out of the ordinary thus far, has it?" He asked them. Hermione looked over to Severus. If anyone would know, it would be him. He gave a curt shake of his head to the headmaster.

"I feel that this situation must be handled delicately," Albus told them, "However, so long as we take into account the power of ignorance, I feel that the continuum and Severus' place in it will not be at risk."

She still looked confused. Severus looked as though he didn't care.

"Put it this way then," he smiled down at her, "So long as the young Severus does not know who the old Severus is or where he comes from, nothing too terrible can happen. It is the power of ignorance my dear. If you believe something to be true then it more than likely is, or in this case, if you are completely oblivious to a subject, there is no way it can affect you."

"So you're saying that as long as Severus stays blond and doesn't tell himself that he is…well, him, that everything can continue on relatively normally?" She asked. The headmaster nodded.

"The power of ignorance," he repeated. She looked over at Severus.

"Well," she said, "That certainly makes things a hell of a lot simpler. But that's only if the power of ignorance is in fact applicable. I can imagine that it doesn't exactly apply to people does it? I can't imagine that all those muggles that had never heard of Lord Voldemort and were still attacked by him were unaffected."

"Indeed," the Headmaster nodded gravely, "If only it were possible."

"You had better be right about this Albus," Severus croaked out, "I don't want to find myself somehow in an alternate dimension where up is down and daisies can talk all because you got your theories crossed."

"Would you like a white rabbit with that?" Hermione muttered to herself but received a glare from Severus' direction anyway and added, "We don't really have a choice anyway. But honestly, if time was going to flip out on us or create a giant hole in the continuum then surely it would have done so by now."

"So does that indeed mean that you will stay within the castle?" Dumbledore asked. Hermione looked over at Severus to find him looking at her in agreement. They really didn't have anywhere else to go. Voldemort would find them immediately if they tried to go anywhere else. It was just fact.

Hermione gave a slight nod to the Headmaster.

"Excellent," he smiled, "There is however, a small matter of identity. You see, as Severus should very well remember, there is already a Miss Evans in this castle. It would be quite confusing for us to have you both and almost too much of a coincidence to make it believable."

"She is muggle born after all," Severus whispered.

Hermione thought about it for a few moments. It seemed logical that she should let this name go and adopt another and yet some part of her wished to hold onto Hermione Evans. As Hermione Granger she had been a bookworm, a drunk, a loser and a victim. As Hermione Evans she had been given strength, power and purpose. It was just too hard to give that up.

"No," she whispered to them both, shaking her head, "A name is just a name. I'll stick to this one."

"Miss-"

"Think about it," she told them, "Lily Evans could hardly be the only muggle born with the name of Evans in this castle. It's so bloody common! And I suspect that there are even a pureblood or two with the name Evans tied into their family history somewhere."

Severus frowned but said nothing against it. She was right of course, the name itself was unimportant. Voldemort would recognize her no matter what title she adopted. As she said, a name was just a name.

Dumbledore sighed but said nothing against it either. There was no doubt that questions would be asked but they would have to deal with it when it came to that.

"I am assuming of course that you are not wishing to repeat your seventh year for the third time?" He asked, "I thought not. Perhaps an apprenticeship would interest you this time around? Transfiguration maybe? Or would you prefer potions? I seem to remember you being rather gifted in both areas of magic."

Hermione thought for a few moments before answering.

"I would say potions would be best," she told him, "However Horace Slughorn is currently the teacher is he not? He taught me in 1944. It wouldn't be good to be too close to him and-"

"No matter which apprenticeship you take Miss Evans, Horace will notice who you are," Dumbledore told her quietly, "It will not take him long to figure that out. You were his favorite student after Tom after all. He wouldn't miss you for the world. If it is potions you wish to take on then I will inform Horace of the situation and he will keep your secret safe."

She looked at Severus for a few moments.

"Well," she said, "Potions has always interested me and if I get stuck at any point I'll always have Severus here with me…Alright, potions it is."

"Excellent," Dumbledore smiled, "And as for you Severus, our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professorship is available for you to teach if you so wish."

Hermione flinched at that and looked at Severus pointedly. He looked back and rolled his dark eyes in his usual mocking manner.

"You don't really believe that tripe about the curse do you?" He asked.

"After all of the teachers I've seen come and go in that post-"

"Two of which were most certainly your fault-"

"That's inconsequential," she told him quietly, "And if you have any sanity at all you will find a better solution to this. Especially after what had to happen last time."

Severus stiffened at the reminder but said nothing against it so as not to alert the Headmaster of his untimely death. Albus for that matter appeared entirely ignorant of what they spoke of but Hermione didn't take this at face value. There was always more going on below the surface as far as Albus Dumbledore was concerned.

"Miss Evans there really isn't another choice. Albus told her, "If Severus does not take this position then we must do our best to find something else. Knowing our students' curiosity I would not put it past them to go looking for trouble if they are not given a simple explanation as to why you are here. Creating a new position would most certainly complicate things."

"Very well," Severus spoke before Hermione could say anything else, "Defense it is."

"I just hope you know what your're doing," she muttered quietly before the two of them were then ushered back to the hospital wing for the second time that day.

~O~

Cygnus sat with his wife that afternoon with a cup of tea in one hand and a fine cigar in the other. It was a Sunday after all; he was allowed to indulge.

Sundays were perhaps his favourite days of the week. It was the day he spent with his wife; it was one of the days that he had no work to do; it was the day that letters from his three beautiful daughters came from their various homes but most of all, it was the day where he got to smoke to his heart's content.

Druella absolutely detested the habit. To Cygnus there was nothing more pleasurable than a warm cigar on a sunny Sunday morning with the paper next to him and a cup of tea in his left hand…Well, maybe sex could top that but it wasn't like he and Druella had a lot of time for that lately. With the two of them working at the Ministry almost twenty four-seven it was amazing that they even found time to sit down and have a meal together.

But despite the troubles that had come due to the gap that work and children had forced between them their relationship was still going strong and he was grateful for his wife every single day of his life. He would always remember the day that he knew she would be the mother of his children. It had been over thirty years since he lay in the hospital wing, battered, broken, upon the brink of death…and there she was. Crying by his bedside, tending to his bandages where Madam Gertrude could not, giving him potions on the hour every hour…She was already a doting spouse. He knew at that moment when he opened his eyes for the first time after his brutal exile from Lord Voldemort's service that Druella was the one for him and that was never going to change.

"Did you see the letter from your sister this morning dear?" She asked him after taking a sip of tea.

Cygnus grumbled. His sister had been nothing but a thorn in his side since their parents had died. He and his brother Alphard had nothing to do with her these days unless she contacted them first and in Alphard's case that was not often.

"Apparently she's planning on blowing your Aunt Cedrella off the family tapestry," she told him conversationally, "She married a Weasley last week you know. Went and eloped with him after her caretakers at the home left them alone in front of a courtroom full of Wizenagmot officials."

"I knew mum and dad should have given the house to me!" He suddenly burst out, "I'll bet you anything she's gone and blown off Alphard after he gave gold to her son and I heard from Regulus that she's even put a hole where Sirius' name used to be! All because he ran away! I'll bet you anything she's just waiting for an opportunity to get rid of our children too! Have you seen the way she looks at Andromeda? It's almost like she's waiting for her to stuff up!"

"Do you really care if your name is on that tapestry?" She asked him, "You gave up on the Black family ideals a long time ago, why do you care if your name is on a piece of carpet that carries the saying 'always pure'?"

"It's just principal Druella," he told her, "She's ruining a very old family relic just because people don't believe the same things she does. And as much as I hate to admit it, that tapestry is a part of my heritage. I want my daughters to be able to see where they come from but if Walburga blasts them off because of some silly excuse-"

"Then don't give her an excuse."

Cygnus turned to see a face that he had hoped not to see for a very long time to come. He had always known that Lord Voldemort was not quite done with him but he had always thought that he would send Abraxus to see him at a much later date, preferably when his daughters were out of school and married off to the best wizards possible.

Abraxus moved into the room slowly just as Cygnus rose from his seat and drew his wand. Druella seemed frozen at the sight of him, unable to move in his presence.

"I've already told you that my Lucius is interested in Andromeda," he said conversationally, completely unperturbed by the fact that he now had a wand pointed in his direction, "I would be more than happy to announce the betrothal if you would give him your blessing."

"None of my daughters are going anywhere near your son," Cygnus growled.

"Why ever not?" Abraxus asked as he took a seat, "And do put that thing away Cygnus, if I was here to kill you I would have done it already."

"Just because you're not here to murder us, doesn't mean I want you in my house," Cygnus bit back. Abraxus simply rolled his eyes.

"Cygnus put it down," he told him, "We can either make this visit amiable or…difficult, and I would much rather have a cup of tea with my best friend rather than hex him into next century."

Regardless of the voice that was screaming inside his head not to obey Cygnus lowered his wand and sat next to his wife across from Abraxus on the couch.

"You haven't been my friend for over thirty years Abraxus," he glared, "What do you want?"

The blond seemed slightly put out by this comment but said nothing as the tea pot floated his way and poured him a cup of steaming earl grey. Once the kettle had done its duty he found his voice once more.

"The Dark Lord has come to me with some information," he told him, "Information and an opportunity for the both of you and Eileen Snape."

Cygnus stiffened at the sound of Eileen's name. He hadn't heard from her in a very long time. She had sent him a letter seventeen years ago saying that she was going into hiding with her new born child and husband and that he wouldn't hear from her again unless it was to warn him of coming danger. Fortunately it had never come to that and she had remained silent and undisturbed for many years. Her son, Severus if he remembered correctly, attended Hogwarts with his two young nephews and was in the same year as Sirius, doing well with school and was particularly gifted with the art of potions.

Like mother, like son, he couldn't help but think. He was brought back to the present however, when Abraxus let a small cough escape his lips.

"I haven't heard from Eileen," he told him stiffly, "And even if I had I would never tell you where she was. I know exactly what Riddle wants to do to her-"

"You can relax Cygnus," Abraxus stopped him in mid rant, "I've already seen Eileen and she's er…not exactly on the same page as the Dark Lord at the moment. Though I hope with time she'll see the error of her ways."

Cygnus stiffened.

"You've seen her?" He asked quietly, "How-how is she?"

Abraxus frowned.

"The muggle scum beats her," he told him with a sneer and clench of his fist, "He beats her and she lets him."

Cygnus took a few seconds to notice the anger in Abraxus' voice before registering his own. He hadn't heard anything from Eileen at all and while no news was disconcerting he used to hope that no news meant good news. Apparently it didn't.

"I tried to get her to leave him," Abraxus confessed, "When I saw her, I tried to get her to leave him and-"

"And what?" Cygnus asked snidely, "Go back to you? Sorry Abraxus but she has far too much class for that. I'm sure she would rather be beaten to a pulp every night than be your whore. I'm sure she could leave Snape in a second but you, you would never leave Miala. You like your trophies too much, even when the only woman you've ever loved is ready to drop everything in her life just for you."

"Funny," Abraxus said humourlessly, "That's exactly what she said."

"So what could Riddle possibly have to offer us?" He asked him, finally cutting to the point.

Abraxus took a breath of mourning for the friendship that was going to be even further shattered by this conversation. He knew that Cygnus wouldn't agree to it, he knew it. But the Dark Lord had insisted that he try and if he didn't try…well, let's just say that the friendship was well worth avoiding the pain that would come his way if he didn't drop it.

"The Dark Lord has been watching your daughters," Abraxus told him, "He has a particular interest in Bellatrix and Andromeda. He thinks they would both be great assets to his ranks."

"If he's looking for permission-"

"You and I both know that Riddle doesn't need permission for anything," Druella finally spoke to her husband, "That's not what Malfoy is offering."

"Quite right Druella," Abraxus said with an amused smirk on his face, "I have to say you were never that observant during school."

"Perhaps I was and everyone else just failed to observe me."

"Touché," he conceded, "Touché."

Abraxus took another sip of tea before he continued.

"Rumours have been circulating," he told them, "That Hermione Evans is back in the country."

Cygnus and Druella both stiffened. That name, so familiar and yet so distant, the sole reason why they were together…it was both a joy and a discomfort to hear it again. It was Druella who seemed to recover from the shock first. She planted a glare on her face quickly as she began to clear away the tea tray.

"Still after her is he?" She asked Abraxus, "You can tell him from me that he's wasting his time."

"And what makes you say that?" He asked. He wasn't quite used to this smarter, cooler, more observant Druella.

"Hermione Evans is one of the most intelligent women I've ever met, Malfoy," she told him, "I would take a guess that she's just as smart if not smarter than Riddle himself. If she doesn't want to be found then she won't be. The last thirty odd years have proven that."

"And if you think for a moment that we would hand her over if she came here you can think again," Cygnus told him, "I let her down once, I'm not going to do it again."

"And what if I said that the Dark Lord would leave your children be if he had Hermione Evans back by his side?" He asked quietly, "What if I said that he was willing to exchange her life for theirs?"

Cygnus scrutinized him for a few moments and said nothing. Druella just snorted.

"With her there he would have no need for Bellatrix or Andromeda," Abraxus continued, "They would be free to live their own lives."

"That's the problem though isn't it?" Cygnus laughed bitterly, "He would never have her by his side. She was going to kill him back in school. She wanted him dead, when is he going to get that?"

"Times change," Abraxus told them.

"They certainly do," Cygnus told him with a leer, "But we all know that this is never going to change. Hermione Evans would never go back to him and I would never encourage her to do so. In fact, I would be standing right behind her in order to help bring that bastard down. So you can take his offer and shove it Abraxus! I don't want to hear another word about _your lord_."

Abraxus narrowed his eyes and anger flew through him for the first time since he had arrived. He stood from his chair and marched over to Cygnus, yanking his arm out of his pocket and wrenching up his sleeve with a sneer.

"Your lord too Cygnus," he spat, "You made the same mistake."

Cygnus just looked at him for a few moments, processing his words before his eyes widened in realisation. It just clicked inside his mind the moment the words left the other man's lips.

"You want out don't you," he said quietly. Abraxus let go of Cygnus' arm as though it had burned him and stood up straight, sweeping imaginary dust off of his robes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"Yes you do!" Cygnus said forcefully, grabbing Abraxus by his shoulders and holding him there, "You've finally realised that the lunatic has ruined your life entirely! You want out! Abraxus if you just-"

"No!" the blond snapped, "Don't you say another word!"

"Abraxus the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore can help you-"

"Dumbledore couldn't help his way out of a wet paper bag," Abraxus sneered, "There is nothing he could possibly do for me or my family and neither can you."

"That's it isn't it?" Druella said as she rejoined the conversation, "He's holding your family ransom isn't he? Abraxus let us help you!"

Abraxus wrenched himself from Cygnus' grip and glared at the two of them.

"I will inform the Dark Lord of your decision," he said harshly before turning his back on them.

"Abraxus!" Cygnus called after him but the blond didn't turn back. Cygnus slumped into the nearest chair and buried his head in his hands.


	4. Pain

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Hey guys. Here's the next bit. I think my characters might be a bit OOC here so just a bit of a warning for that. Otherwise, as always, enjoy your read!  
**

**ALSO! Just a reminder that the forum is still up and can be accessed through my profile. For those of you who have questions or theories, head over there! ESPECIALLY ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS! I don't know if you can access the forum or not but if you can, please post your questions there so I can actually answer them.  
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**~VTM**

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Chapter Three: Pain

She walked swiftly through Diagon Alley that night with silent footsteps, seeking solace in the shadows of the many buildings and side streets. She used her keen lances to spy for any sudden movements, or worse, movements such as her own. Stealthy, lithe and secretive, the telltale movements of a spy. However when she saw nothing of the sort she still remained alert and focused to the tee. She knew that if any spies had been sent it would only be one and she would never know that he was there, lurking in the safety of the shadows just as she did. She knew him all too well. If he didn't want to be seen, if he didn't want to be heard, then he wouldn't.

So she moved on until she came to a stop upon seeing her destination and was suddenly hesitant. She would always remember her first time in that shop. She was too new to the world and so she didn't notice the air of power and danger that hung over the shelves, the weapons that sat upon them dormant and waiting for their masters to arrive. The second time she had arrived she had definitely felt it and had left with a weapon that was not her own. Now that weapon was broken and calling for another master. She knew that even if it were possible for it to be repaired it would never obey her commands again. She had betrayed it now. It would only ever take orders from another from then on. And now that she stood outside the place she was reluctant to go in, not knowing what she would be bestowed with next. She could only hope it would be what she was after. She moved forward and ignored the sound of the bell that hung over the door in favour of looking for the man who would make or break her future.

He came, slowly and hesitantly, forward from down the aisles but when he saw her, the hood of her black cloak raised to cover her face entirely and an air of secrecy and danger hanging around her person, his demeanor changed entirely. He immediately whipped out his wand and aimed it at her, his expression cold and fearless.

It was then that she realized what she must look like to him in this day and age.

"I'm not a Death Eater," she told him quietly.

"I know that," he said coldly, "You're something else."

"I don't understand."

"I always knew that I would see you again," he told her, "I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that it would not be our last meeting. I had hoped that it would be sooner rather than later and under better circumstances, however when news spread of your disappearance…it was obviously too late."

She stared at him for several minutes, making no attempt to defend herself as he drew nearer and nearer, his wand finally resting at her throat. He glared at her through strange blue eyes and did not falter when she did nothing but stare back.

"I'm not who you think I am," she told him softly, "I'm not a servant of the Dark Lord."

"No," he sneered in a voice that uncharacteristically unkind, "You are his silent partner, his bed warmer-"

She cut him off as her anger flared.

"I am nothing of the sort," she sneered, finally removing her hood and revealing to him what he had suspected all those many years ago. She was the same, exactly the same. Her hair was more of a mess perhaps than the silky mane that he remembered but she had no lines upon her face to show that she had aged the thirty years that she ought to.

She was the same.

He gaped at her for the longest time before finally finding the will to speak.

"Wh-where are you really from?" He asked quietly.

She hesitated for a moment but decided that there really was nothing holding her back now. She had spilled her guts to two other people, what harm could one more do?

"1998," she told him. He gasped at her again, lowering his wand without intention as she spoke again.

"I've come for your help," she told him, "Thirty years ago you sold me a wand and thirty years ago it broke in a nasty battle with one who shared the same core."

Olivander stared at her for several moments, his grizzled hair hanging slightly over his eyes.

"This battle was _against_ He Who Must Not Be Named?" He asked.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"If it is a new wand you are after-"

"It isn't," she told him firmly, "I've found a wand that is more than willing to obey my commands. Coincidentally it is also a wand that you made and sold in my time, a wand that once belonged to a very dear friend."

"There were others who traveled with you?" He asked incredulously.

"My intentions in 1944 were very dangerous ones," she told him, "I couldn't carry them out on my own."

He seemed to scrutinize her once more as she stared back at him. Without him asking she withdrew the wand from her pocket and presented it to him. He examined it for only seconds before he spoke once more.

"Hawthorn and unicorn hair, 10 inches, reasonably springy," he muttered, "I made this wand only three days ago. The unicorn I retrieved the hair from was a reasonably proud creature and didn't take kindly to losing half of his tale."

"You won't sell it for another fourteen years," she told him as he handed it back to her.

"If it is not a wand you wish to procure then why is it you are here?" He asked.

She took a deep breath and presented him now with her broken wand…Harry's wand. It was completely snapped in half, the feather core almost sticking out from the wooden casing and the tip now emitting random red sparks every five seconds.

"Can this be repaired?" She asked.

He took it from her and looked over it with delicate care. His nimble fingers glided over the varnished wood right up until the split and then ran lightly over the phoenix feather core. She watched as he examined it with hope and interest and waited until he surfaced once more.

"It would be possible," he finally told her, "But it would take a lot of time and-"

"Money is no object," she told him as she threw a sack of galleons over the counter. It had been what was left of the money that Draco had given her to buy her last wand.

Olivander frowned.

"I was going to say patience," he told her, picking up the galleons and placing them back in her hand, "I don't want your money Miss Evans."

"That does not change the fact that I would prefer that you take it," she told him, "I'm putting you in a lot of danger by being here."

"My dear I was in much danger long before you arrived here," he told her with a bitter smile, "The Dark Lord has been watching me for the longest time. He feels that my skills in wand lore would be most useful to his side of the battle line. Money will not change that."

"It would give you the chance to run."

"And do I run Miss Evans?" He asked her, "Do I run away from him?"

She knew what he was asking and she felt no guilt in divulging this piece of information to him. It seemed that he had made up his mind long before she had arrived.

"No," she told him quietly, "You don't."

"Then why make the suggestion?"

"My own peace of mind," she said quietly, "If I give you the opportunity-"

"Then you feel you have no reason to be guilty if I am apprehended by the Dark Lord after this meeting," he finished for her, still keeping the bag in her hands, "You have nothing to feel guilty about regardless of whether I take this money or not."

She felt otherwise but said nothing and pocketed the galleons once more. Ollivander continued to examine the wand.

"You have another wand that now does your bidding," he commented as he looked at the phoenix feather poking out from the middle, "Why is it you want this one repaired?"

"That wand does not belong to me," she told him, "No matter how long I hold it, however much I use it, it will never be mine. Once you have repaired it I want you to keep it with you until its true owner comes to claim it."

"I see," he said, "And how will I know when its true owner has come to claim it?"

For the first time since entering the wand shop, for the first time since entering this decade, she cracked a small smile.

"You'll know him when you see him."

~O~

She apparated back to Hogwarts as soon as she could once the meeting was over, her heart still heavy but her conscience relatively clear. Harry would have his wand back soon enough and he would survive the years to come because of it.

She was rather adamant that if she could not save one friend then she would at least help another. It was abhorantly Gryffindor of her, but it was the least she could do to repent for her sins.

As she walked up to the gates of Hogwarts she thought of her many sins. She had dragged so many people into danger because she hadn't been strong enough. She had often wondered in the last twetny four hours whether Severus had been right in choosing her, whether he had made a good decision to intervene at all. Now that he had made this decision, now that they had done all that had been done there was no way of telling what would have happened had they stayed within the castle. There was no way things could go back to the way they were.

"Who goes there?"

She looked up at the gates to see a student on the other side. He had the hood of his Slytherin cloak raised but she could tell immediately by the voice who it was.

"Tell me," she said, not bothering to answer his question, "Why is it Albus Dumbledore has a student guarding the wards to the gates?"

"I'm simply minding them until Professor Slughorn gets back," he told her, "Who are you and what business do you have here?"

It was a lie and she knew it. She couldn't help but smirk beneath her hood as she gazed at him with his curtain of black hair, his pale skin glowing in the moonlight. She could quite easily have a lot of fun with this.

"Your professor is a fool to leave a mere boy in charge," she told him, "Who is to say a Death Eater would not come by?"

"Death Eaters don't venture near the school for fear of Dumbledore coming by," Severus sneered, "Honestly, don't you _read_?"

She smirked at him again and then proceeded to lower her hood. His expression instantly changed to one of surprise.

"My name is Hermione Evans," she told him, "And Albus Dumbledore is expecting my return."

He hesitated for a few moments but said nothing against her as she opened the gates to admit her. She gave him a small smile as she passed through the wards, feeling the familiar safety and comfort once more of Hogwarts. Then she stopped beside him and drank in his expression. It had gone from one of cold indifference to a look of the utmost respect.

"You shouldn't have let me in," she told him, peering up at him as he was still a foot taller than she, "I could in deed have been a Death Eater."

"If you were a Death Eater I would either have been dead by now or taken away," he told her simply. She brushed it off.

"Next time either ask for a password or ask a question that only the individual you are speaking to should know," she told him, "It should minimize your chances of letting in someone you shouldn't."

She then began to walk past him and as she did she felt his eyes following her. After only moments she heard him come running after her.

"Why did you tell me that?" He demanded, stepping in front of her to stop her from avoiding him.

"It is the truth," she told him simply and made to walk past but he stepped in front of her again.

"But why did you say it?" He said with a bit of an edge to his voice now.

"Is it simply not enough that I would want to see to your safety?" She asked.

"You don't even know me," he countered, "You owe me nothing. Why would you worry about my well being at all?"

It was in that moment that she remembered who she was talking to. This younger version of her companion did not know how to trust, didn't know the feeling of love from another person, at least not from anyone but his own mother. He had been taught to trust no one from the moment he was born.

It was for that reason that she extended her hand to him.

"Hermione Evans," she introduced herself.

"I know who you are," he told her bitingly, "People talk."

"Indeed they do," she smirked, "However your name has not yet reached my ears."

He hesitated for a few moments before taking her hand.

"Severus Snape," he said quietly.

"It is nice to meet you Mr Snape," she smiled, "Would you perhaps like to guide me back to the castle?"

He looked at her strangely again, as though she were the most mysterious person in the world. Clearly Hogwarts had lost its kindness and compassion since the last time she had been there.

But soon enough he offered his arm to her and she took it without hesitation. Regardless of what side this boy would choose in future she still trusted him with her life and would let him take her anywhere.

"So what year are you Mr Snape?" Hermione asked him after a few seconds of walking in silence.

"Seventh," he told her.

"And what classes are you taking?"

"Is that really your business?"

"No. I'm merely curious."

He hesitated.

"Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Potions."

She stared at him sideways.

"I do believe you have quite a few free periods there, Mr Snape," she told him.

"That is because I'm undertaking a Potions Apprenticeship this year," he informed her, "Professor Slughorn felt that I was ready last year but I could not under go the work until I was of age."

She smiled at him.

"That makes two of us then," she told him, "Professor Dumbledore has offered me the same position."

He stared at her completely wide eyed for a few moments until his senses came back to him and replaced his mask of indifference.

"I was under the impression that I would be doing this alone," he told her silkily.

"Well you would have if I had not landed in the…Great Hall…this morning," her smile faded as she remembered Draco's body lying in the Hospital Wing, waiting to be buried, his soul waiting to be sent on. She had to fight hard to calm herself when visions of what had happened earlier that day assaulted her mind. Severus noticed this instantly but said nothing to comfort her or console her. They simply kept walking as she tried very hard not to cry. It seemed he had no sense of what to do with this shattered perfect stranger.

With a deep breath she finally managed to pull herself together somewhat.

"The pain is just so…heavy," she whispered, "I don't know how to make it stop hurting."

"I'm the last person to ask," he said uncomfortably, choosing to stare straight ahead, "I've never lost anyone worth feeling pain over."

"Then you are lucky," she said with a sad smile as they finally came up to the doors, "I've lost far too many. To not have lost at all must be-"

"I never said that I had not lost," he told her coldly, "Simply that I have not lost anyone worth remembering."

She paused and looked at his stony face for a few moments before nodding.

"I see," she said as they opened the doors and walked inside. They stood there in the Entrance Hall for what seemed like an eternity before Hermione could take it no longer and broke eye contact.

"I had better be going," she told him, turning to move up the stairs, "It was nice meeting you Mr Snape. I look forward to working with you."

"You never answered my question."

She turned back to look at him in confusion.

"And what question is this?" She asked him softly.

"Why did you give me advice about safeguarding my person?" He asked her. To this she gave a sigh and a smile before heading up the top of the stairs.

"Perhaps one day I'll tell you," she said before heading towards her rooms once more, "Goodnight."

And she walked away leaving him with many questions buzzing inside his head. She walked quickly up to the seventh floor to where her old rooms had been made up for both herself and Severus. Albus had argued that they should sleep in separate areas of the castle to avoid suspicion of their relationship but they had both demanded to be placed in the same quarters. It was just safer that way while they were in this time. There was no telling what could happen.

"Where did you go?"

She almost jumped at the sound of the soft voice from the dark corner of the room. She took in as much air as possible before turning to the older Severus whose blond hair did nothing to abate his ability to hide in the darkness.

"I went to give Harry's wand back to Olivander," she whispered to him as she hung up her cloak, "He was the one who sent me the letter in 1945."

"What letter?" He asked, his voice still quiet. She knew the pain was still with him too just by the tone in his voice.

"I received a letter a about a week after I purchased that wand back in 1945," she told him quietly as she went to sit next to him in the darkness, "It said that a friend was there to help me if I needed it. I didn't know who it was at first but after a while it became obvious that it was Ollivander. He's the only one who could possibly have figured it out on his own. My visit to his shop tonight only confirmed it."

There was a small pause.

"You went on your own?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"Don't do it again," he whispered.

She nodded.

That was when the tears finally began to fall again. Silently at first until the pain took over and the sobbing began. She didn't expect him to hug her close but he did, muffling her sobs and holding her like he had so long ago when Rookwood had attacked her so violently. She felt differently to how she did then. This pain was different. It was heavy on her chest, searing in her throat, piercing to her heart. Back then she had just felt numb and that kind of pain was something she prayed she would never have to experience again.

"Will it ever stop?" She asked him in between sobs, "Will it ever get easier to let them all go?"

"No," he whispered, "It only gets worse," she let out a small wail, "And the pain never truly leaves. It will make you wonder why we try so hard but…"

"No," she shook her head and sniffed, trying to pull herself together, "I know why we try and I'll never stop trying. That part of this will never falter. I just wonder whether…"

"Whether it's all worth it," he finished for her, "Whether what we are doing is right, not for everyone else, but for us."

She let out a small watery laugh.

"It almost doesn't make sense," she told him, burying her head in his shoulder once more.

They stayed like that for the longest time, trying to draw some sense of comfort from one another but feeling none. After a while the tears once again subsided and she was able to think relatively clearly once more.

"We have to bury him," she whispered, "We have to give him a final resting place."

"Where?" He asked her, "We can't exactly put him in the Malfoy family cemetery."

She thought for a few moments before closing her eyes.

"I know where to go."


	5. How Things Have Changed

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Ok just thought I would give you a warning that I am not the greatest poet in the world and give an open invitation to come up with something better. You guys will know what I'm talking about once you read the chapter so if you can come up with something, send it to me and I'll tell you what I think! Or better yet, post it in the forum! Under theories preferably lol.**

**Thanks heaps!  
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**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Four: How things have changed

It was on the morning of the 2nd of September that the body of Draco Malone was taken from the hospital wing in 1977 and buried on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione and Severus stole him just as the sun had risen in the sky and carried him wordlessly down into the forbidden forest, to a clearing that Hermione remembered all too well. It was the clearing where she had taken him after he had seen her with Riddle for the first time, the same clearing she had given him her knives and her ring to give back to Severus and bid him goodbye until it was time to make the long journey home.

But it was a journey that he would never make now and it pained them both to leave him behind. She cried as she encased his body in the finest coffin she could conjure, laying a single kiss upon his forehead and allowing Severus to place his hand on the boy's chest before closing it up and setting him into the ground. Once he was covered she stood there for the longest time.

"Come," Severus finally said, "We must get back to the castle. We can not miss breakfast or questions will be asked."

"Wait," she sniffed. She walked over to a large rock and transfigured it into a tomb stone.

When Severus realized what she was doing he went to stop her.

"We can't," he told her softly, "We can't leave any evidence of-"

"I know," she whispered, "But he deserves to have his grave marked."

And so she marked it. She used her wand and jotted down some words of remembrance…

_Here lies a_  
_Determined man of_  
_Righteousness and faith_  
_A man of beauty and grace_  
_Candid, kind and content_  
_One of little contempt_

_Men often scorned him_  
_A great many with little faith_  
_Little do they know he was beautiful_  
_From head to toe a prince_  
_Of every nature_  
_Your only example of perfection_

Severus stared at the words for a few moments before he realised what she had done and then gave her a nod of acceptance. The two then traveled back to the castle slowly, Hermione's arm wrapped around Severus' middle and his arm around her shoulders. When they reached the Great Hall however they quickly wiped away any tears and withdrew from one another. Hermione cast a cleansing spell on her face to remove all traces of salt and water before they both turned towards the doors.

Hermione glanced at Severus for a few moments. He seemed hesitant, cautious, almost frightened of what might happen the moment he opened those doors and she knew why. She placed her hand on his arm and he turned to look at her rather than the wooden doors.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked him, "We could always renege on the offer and go our own way."

"You and I both know that we wouldn't last on our own," he told her, "I'll be fine. You just look after yourself."

"Why?" She sniffed, "What do I have to worry about?"

"Just because the Dark Lord isn't physically here does not mean the danger has passed," he told her quietly with a look of all seriousness lining his features, "His ears are in the walls and he sees through the eyes of others. Never forget it."

She nodded and resigned herself to the fact that there were still very few people she could trust in this time and she was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

They then turned back to the Great Hall and entered without another word. All chatter suddenly ceased at their appearance. Students and staff alike stared at them and whispered to their neighbours. Hermione and Severus for the most part ignored it and took their places by the headmaster.

"Now I know how Harry felt," she smirked and Severus rolled his eyes. Dumbledore smiled at them both before standing and introducing them to the rest of the school as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and the new Potions Apprentice who would be studying along side Severus Snape. At this, Severus stiffened and then turned to Hermione to whisper in her ear.

"Did you know of this?" He whispered, "Did you know that…Snape would be taking an apprenticeship this year?"

"I found out last night," she told him, "Why?"

"I never took an apprenticeship."

She turned her head so fast that her hair almost whipped him in the face.

"What?" She whispered.

"I never took one," he told her, "Least of all in my seventh year. I simply went to Dumbledore and he hired me after that. My…experiences were enough."

Her eyes were wide with fear as she thought about it. If there was any doubt before there was none now. Whatever they had done in 1944 and 1945 had obviously changed certain outcomes in the future.

"Look around the hall and tell me if anything else has changed," she whispered to him urgently, "You were here before-"

"Nothing else is different," he told her, "Just…me."

"Maybe Dumbledore was wrong about the power of ignorance-"

"No," he shook his head, "If he was wrong about that then something catastrophic would have happened rather than just my new found apprenticeship. Something we did in 1944 changed my time at Hogwarts…"

"And possibly your course afterwards," she finished for him, "We'll have to find out later on. For now I think we had better just finish our breakfast."

And so they did. They spent much time scanning the halls and looking for any signs of trouble from either the students or time itself and found nothing. As they chewed their bacon and drank their pumpkin juice they couldn't help but notice a few of the conversations that were going on near them. Dumbleore was chatting to Minerva about the latest sweets at Honeyduke's while Slughorn and Flitwick were conversing about the use of charms in potions. It seemed for the most part that everything was relatively normal and that nothing else had changed. But Hermione was too careful nowadays to take anything at face value. She wouldn't believe that everything was fine until she had undeniable proof that she hadn't mucked up the timeline.

Once breakfast was over she bid her Severus goodbye and as she left for the dungeons she was confronted by the younger version. He was standing at the top of the stairs that led to the classroom they would be practicing in for the rest of the year.

"You had best follow me through the dungeons," he told her, "There was discussion last night in the dorms that there would be a few pranks on the cards for your first day."

She smirked at him for a few moments.

"And why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"I'm returning a favor," he grumbled, "That is all."

"Right," she smiled, letting him believe whatever it was he wanted to believe and took his arm once more. They moved quickly, avoiding a few spells that had been cast their way until they stood outside their classroom waiting for Slughorn to appear. Across from them was the seventh year N.E.W.T potions class, laughing away and waiting to see what their last year had in store for them.

Three of them caught Hermione's eye. One with long shaggy hair and a handsome face, another with glasses and hazel eyes and one more with sandy brown hair and pink scars over his cheeks. Severus sneered at her when he caught her looking at them.

"I suppose you think Potter is good looking just like every other chit in this place," he growled.

She gave Potter another once over for good measure and shook her head.

"I've seen better," she told him. It was true to. He really wasn't all that great compare to the likes of Draco or…she shuddered at the train of thought she was headed down and quickly stopped it. Severus however had raised his eyebrows in interest.

"Is that so?" He asked, "What of Black then?"

"Sure he has looks but I'd never go there," she told him, "Seems like a garden variety idiot to me. Probably has the memory span of a goldfish."

"And Lupin?"

"Seems to docile," she smirked, "I need a man I can have a good fight with."

Snape snorted.

"You certainly are different," he told her, "Most of the girls in this place-"

He cut himself off as a certain girl came down into the dungeons. Hermione recognized her instantly from photos that Harry had shown her when they were younger with her fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. Snape stiffened by her side and watched with more pain than Hermione had ever seen his older counterpart exhibit, as Lily Evans walked up to James Potter and kissed him. When she had finished, James slung an arm around her shoulders and she looked in Snape's direction for a brief moment before looking away in shame. She obviously knew how he felt.

"Alright Snivellus?"

Their attention was drawn back to Black who had noticed them staring. Hermione tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. She had adored Sirius in her time until Severus had shown her a few memories of the man before he grew up.

"What do you want Black?" Snape spat at him.

"Just wanted to see how you're going Snivellus," he said in a mock friendly tone, "I see you managed to get rid of the pink hair that we gave you yesterday. Did he tell you about that Miss Evans? I guarantee you that if he hasn't, I can tell the tale much better."

This time Hermione did role her eyes. He was being deliberately cruel by attempting to take away all companionship that the boy had. Perhaps it was time he learned a few things.

"Really?" She smiled seductively, something she had learned from her time with the Dark Lord, "What happened?"

Severus looked at her confusedly for a few moments before scowling, seeming to think that she had been lying to him before and was now showing her true nature.

"Well," Sirius smirked, James snickering behind him as the boy placed his arm around Hermione's shoulders, "Me and the boys found dear old Snivellus out in the grounds and decided to play a game with him. You see, we made a deal that if he could hit us with any one of his curses we would let him go and wouldn't play anymore games for the rest of the year. He told us to sod off so we gave him a little incentive."

"What did you do?" She asked him breathlessly, leaning into him. Severus looked disgusted. She would have felt disgusted too but there was a point to everything that she was doing after all.

"Well," he said as he turned to face her and put his hands on her hips instead, "We started cursing him instead. The bat bogeys looked particularly good on him I must say. When he did finally start cursing us back though, he missed every time! He couldn't even hit Peter!"

The seventh year class, bar Lily and Remus, laughed uncontrollably at this. James was so bad that he had to stomp his foot to emphasize the hilarity he felt.

"What happened next?" She asked dreamily.

"We turned him into a pink rat and threw him in the lake," he laughed before running a finger down the side of her cheek, "Which brings me to the real point of coming over here. Why are you hanging around a rat like him when you can be hanging around with the boys and me? Come on love, come wait in line with us until old Sluggy gets here."

"Well…" She said, trying to sound unsure.

"Come on love," he said, his head getting closer and closer, "We'll make it worth your while."

"Ok," she whispered, "But before I do, tell me. What shade of pink was it you turned him? Was it something like…This!"

She pushed him away so fast and drew her wand so quickly that he had no idea what was going on before it was all over. She cast a permanent color spell on his hair and gave it the brightest pink she could possibly conjure, eyebrows included. Out of the corner of her eye she saw James let go of Lily and come to his friend's aid. She trained her wand on him so fast that he had no time to do anything but throw his hands up in surrender. Hermione made his hair so purple that even Lily was laughing by the end.

"What about you Lupin?" She asked, "Do you want to try as well?"

"Nope," he smirked, "They've had it a long time coming."

Hermione smirked back at him for a few moments before turning back to a stunned Sirius on the floor of the dungeons, staring at the strands of hair he could see in horror.

"Just so you know Black," she told him, "I would rather go around with him," she indicated Snape, "Than you any day of the week. And his name is Severus. The sooner you get that right the sooner your IQ will go up a few points."

He just stared at her and she sneered.

"Get back in line before I decide to do something a little more permanent than change your hair color," she spat. He scrambled up quickly and moved back to where he had stood before, staring at her the entire time until Slughorn arrived to let them in. Hermione quickly turned to Snape.

"When we walk in, put your arm around my waist," she whispered with a smirk. He looked stunned for a few moments as though no girl had ever let him come that close before but agreed none the less. Slughorn looked from Potter to Black for a few moments before shaking his head and letting them in and then turned back to Hermione and Snape. His eyes lingered on her for a few moments as his expression changed from that of amused disappointment to disbelief. But he said nothing and unlocked the door to the classroom. Severus did exactly as he had been told and moved his arm around her waist, smirking back at Black who looked at him in disbelief before they went inside. Slughorn followed in after Severus and Hermione, laying his teaching materials on the desk before turning back to Hermione.

"Would you please follow me to my office Miss Evans?" He asked her quietly, "There were a few problems with your timetable we need to sort out."

"Yes sir," she smiled at Severus before following the old man to the back of the room. Once inside the small office he stared at her in open shock.

"I must admit that when Albus told me everything I was…"

He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. She could have sworn that she saw tears threatening to spill over the borders of his eyes before he smiled.

"I'm glad that you're alright Miss Evans," he whispered, "Very glad indeed."

Hermione hesitated for a few moments as a question bubbled on her lips. She took a deep breath before finally deciding to ask. It was important after all, to know exactly what had happened.

"How-" She stuttered, "How was he? When I left?"

Slughorn didn't need to ask for clarification. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead with it before sitting behind his desk.

"Angry," he told her, "At first I didn't understand why he was so riled. I thought he should be grieving your death rather than raging at it but now that I know what really happened…"

"What did he tell you?" She asked, sitting in front of him.

"He told us that Grindlewald had come," he told her, "And like the fools that we were, we believed him, dear."

"No," she shook her head, "He has always been persuasive and endearing. I'm not surprised that you swallowed every lie that he fed you."

"And what lies did he feed you?" He asked her quietly, "What did he tell you in order to get you to come to his side?"

"It wouldn't have mattered what he told me," she told him, "It wouldn't have mattered how much he gave me or what he promised me, I could never be a part of his cause."

He smiled sadly at her.

"I wish there were more with your Gryffindor courage Miss Evans," he told her, "Then there would be no one left to support him."

She smiled at him just as sadly.

"Come," he told her after a while, "Let us begin the lesson."

He walked her back out of the office and into the classroom once more where Severus was waiting patiently at a desk. Hermione slotted herself next to him and waited for Slughorn to begin speaking.

"Right," he began with his usual bouncy smile, "This is how the lessons are going to be run. You've been placed away from the other students so that you may work in peace and without interruption. For the first two periods of the day you will work alone while I teach the other classes, on your potions project for the year which I will go into more detail on next. The next two periods after that will be where Severus goes to lessons and so Miss Evans and I will be able to apply ourselves to some more obscure branches of potions making that will be of no relevance to the apprenticeship but are good to know none the less. And for the last two periods of the day I will be in here with you critiquing your technique and giving you assignments for the week. Sound good?"

The two of the nodded.

"Right then," Slughorn smiled, "Now this project I mentioned earlier will make up the basis of your apprenticeship. It will make fifty percent of your marks for the year so you need to really apply yourself if you wish to succeed."

"What is it we actually have to do Professor?" She asked.

"Create a potion," he told her, "From scratch. It can do anything you like so long as it is of at least N.E.W.T level and does not do or use anything illegal."

"Could we perhaps alter an already existing potion?" Snape asked, "For instance make a Draught of Living Death that is not only permanent but preserves the body it is administered to?"

Slughorn thought about it for a few moments before giving a nod.

"I think that would be acceptable, yes," he told him with a smile, "Now, everything you need is in the store cupboards over there. They are my own private stores so I do ask that you are careful and do not misplace anything, not that I need to even ask with you two. I'll be back after this period is over to check on you before the next class and I strongly suggest you plan your project for today rather than head straight into it. Good luck!"

With that, he departed from the room and left the two of them alone once more. Hermione instantly pulled out a quill and some parchment that Dumbledore had graciously left for her on the coffee table in her quarters that morning. She then let her mind wonder for a bit as she watched Snape pull out his own things and begin planning. Something about the way Sirius had spoken about him earlier was off. She ventured back to the conversation to try and pick something up…

"Well," he said as he turned to face her and put his hands on her hips instead, "We started cursing him instead. The bat bogeys looked particularly good on him I must say. When he did finally start cursing us back though, he missed every time! He couldn't even hit Peter!"

"Mr Snape," she called to him, "Who is Peter?"

He looked over at her and scowled.

"Another lackey of Potter and Black's," he answered stiffly.

"And I take it he isn't a very good wizard?" She asked, knowing the answer full well.

"He can't even tie his own shoe laces-" he cut himself off when he realized what she was thinking about and scowled even deeper.

She then realized what he was thinking and endeavored to correct him.

"I was just remembering what Black said earlier," she told him quickly, "He said that you didn't hit any of them and it just doesn't make sense."

"How so?" He asked her.

"Well," she told him, "You don't give off the impression of a complete idiot to me and I would say that your aim is pretty good if Slughorn trusts you to guard the gates in his stead. So either Black is lying, which I wouldn't put past him, or you deliberately missed them."

Snape stiffened again and refused to look at her.

"It's none of your business," he told her before turning back to his parchment. She let it go after that but resigned herself to tell her Severus about it later. Something wasn't right about it and she was determined to find out, not only for Snape's sake but for her own. It could very well have been another change in his childhood that may have been caused by her own influence and that she wouldn't be able to stand. Severus had suffered enough already. She didn't want him to suffer anymore because of her own stupidity.

**_~O~_**

"Not once! Never in my life did I intentionally miss them! Why the hell would I do that?"

She sighed and closed her eyes as they took lunch in their chambers that afternoon. Hermione had gone to him almost immediately after lunch had been called for and asked him to meet her there so that they may talk in private. Snape had followed her out of the classroom and looked at her rather strangely when he had seen her with her blond uncle almost immediately but said nothing as he ventured past her into the Great Hall.

"So that part has changed as well," Hermione muttered after a while, taking a bite out of her roast beef sandwich as she went. "Something about your past must have changed before we left. We must have had some kind of impact on-"

She cut herself off and looked up at Severus in a kind of mangled horror. When he caught her eye and stopped his pacing he shook his head.

"No," he told her firmly, "No, nothing we did affected Eileen, I can tell you now she was still exactly the same when she came through the floo-"

"What?" She screeched. Severus had to cover his ears in order to stop them from ringing.

"Honestly woman, how do you think we knew to come and get you? A muggle phone?" He snapped back.

"When did she go through?" Hermione continued to yell.

"That afternoon," he told her, "She came through, bound and gagged us, threatened to torture us if we didn't give her answers and then left. In the end we had to tell her everything in order to get an update on your wellbeing. When you were in trouble she sent a note through the floo to us and that's when we came to find you."

Hermione suddenly stood from her seat and began pacing around the room, shaking her head and muttering the entire time. After a while she stopped and looked at Severus rather seriously.

"We have to find out what happened after we left," she told him, "It's the only way we're going to be able to predict the changes we've made."

"What are you talking about?" Severus said, looking at her as though she had gone mad, "There's no way we could predict-"

"Yes we can," she told him, "You know what was meant to happen, how things were meant to be. Rather than getting taken by surprise when something happens unexpectedly we need to get ahead of this thing and figure out just how much damage we've done!"

He looked at her for a while.

"You, woman," he said quietly, "Are insane."

"No I'm not," she growled, stamping her foot, "I know exactly what I'm talking about and just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean that I'm mental!"

"That is the complete definition of mental!" He exclaimed.

She gave a growl but generally said nothing against it.

"The point is that now we need to visit either Cygnus or Eileen," she told him, "And considering Eileen knows everything I would say that she is the best choice-"

"The problem with that is you are now running around with her son for four out of six hours of the day!" He barked, "What's to stop Snape from figuring it all out?"

He had her on that one.

"Face it Hermione we are on our own," he told her, the use of her given name making her pull her face up to him, "We are on our own and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. You had best put this time changing business out of your mind. It will not do either of us any good."


	6. Bite Me

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Here's the next bit guys and this time you all get what you've been asking for from the beginning. Tom makes a lovely entrance if I do say so myself lol.**

**Also! A big thank you to Kiki No Squeaky Chan and River Ramsden for leaving some questions and theories in the One Timeless Chance Forum!**

**As always, R&R!  
**

**Thanks heaps!  
**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Five: Bite me

Despite her better judgement she listened to Severus. She forgot all about the changes that had obviously gone on during the past and concentrated with him on repairing the time turner and getting back to the future. It was because of this that when the time came for her to announce her potion project to Professor Slughorn, she had something that was above the standard she was meant to meet.

"I plan on creating a potion," she told both Slughorn and the younger Snape one afternoon a week later, "That has the capabilities of repairing any object it comes in contact with be it plastic, metal or wood."

Slughorn looked shocked for a few moments but recovered in seconds.

"And how would you accomplish such a feat?" He asked her.

"I've found considerable research regarding certain spells and already existing potions," she told him, "I plan on combining them into one stable entity."

"And what form would this miracle potion take?" Snape asked her.

"To be completely honest with you, I'm unsure," she told him, "I guess it will depend on which form will be easiest for the ingredients to adapt to."

Snape smirked at her.

"And in these last few weeks, which aspect of the potion have you been researching?" Slughorn asked her.

"Mr Snape has found some time to spend with me in the library researching the basic properties of almost every surface on the planet," she told him with a smile, "It's been tedious but I think we've just about covered everything."

"And why not add skin to this potion?" Slughorn asked, "Why not make it a healing draught as well?"

"Because skin is alive," she told him, "Therefore it holds different properties to that of metal or wood. It would be foolish to try and add it in. It is impossible to create a potion that intelligent."

Slughorn smiled down at her.

"Well considering the amount of work that would go into creating this kind of…masterpiece, I think I could allow a joint project if Mr Snape is interested…?"

"Sorry to disappoint Professor but I have my own areas of potions that I'm interested in," Snape replied politely.

"And I would much rather do this on my own," Hermione smiled.

"Well if you think you can handle it I suppose…" Slughorn trailed off, "And what about you Severus? What work of art are you going to produce for us this year?"

"A potion that I have been thinking about for a while actually," he told them both, "It will be designed to allow one to have a conversation with one's self without seeming like a paranoid schizophrenic."

They stared at him. He rolled his eyes.

"I suppose you could say that it will be like a sleeping version of Felix Felicius," he attempted to explain, "If I manage to make this work then the subject will be able to have certain emotions and portions of their brains personified in a dream. For instance, the person that I associate with logic would be…well, you Professor."

Slughorn looked surprised but Hermione wasn't in the slightest. Slughorn was his potions Professor and Severus found potions logical, methodical and calming therefore Slughorn would also be associated to this.

"Because of this if I were to take this potion, theoretically I should have a conversation with you at some point about the logic of whatever decision I am trying to make," Snape concluded.

"So it would be sort of like a hallucinogenic drug mixed with a dreamless sleep draught?" Hermione asked and Snape smiled.

"That's exactly it," he told her.

"And how exactly would you make sure that this potion would give you the answer that would be best for the subject?" Slughorn asked.

"That is what is up to the subject," Severus told him almost instantly, "This is simply a way of giving them all the perspectives without having to go to an outside source."

"Well I must say that you both have chosen the most exciting and extraordinary projects that I have seen in the longest time," Slughorn beamed, "I wish the both of you the best of luck with it. Now if you will please turn to page three hundred and ninety four…"

Once the lesson was over for the day Snape took Hermione's arm and began to guide her out of the dungeons. It had become a kind of tradition really. In the weeks that they had begun to learn with one another they would finish their lessons for the day and then head up to the library for a bit of study before heading back down to the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione would then be handed over to "Leopold" for the rest of the evening. Everywhere that they went together they were met with inquiring eyes. It seemed that Snape had not been seen socializing with anyone so often for a long time that Hermione was now considered to be a miracle worker as far as his teachers and a few of his better classmates were concerned. Another seventh year Slytherin even got up the courage to come and sit next to her while Snape went to search for a book in the library late one evening and complimented her on what she had done with him in all of three weeks.

"He seems much less hostile, I must say," he told her, "Then again, those Marauders don't seem to bother him much anymore. He just doesn't pay them any attention."

"Did they bother him often?" She asked him, looking up from her notes briefly.

"Not a day went by when they didn't do something horrid," he told her, "But ever since that episode in the dungeons…I must say that was a lovely shade of pink too. Pity they managed to persuade Slughorn to get rid of it by the end of the lesson. I could think of quite a few puns to go along with that hair."

"Just stand Black next to a Blast-Ended Skrewet and it would be "Pinky and the Brain"," she muttered with a bit of a giggle.

"Well," the unknown seventh year continued on, "I just thought I would come and let you know that the rest of Slytherin house thanks you for your good work Miss Evans. We may not like the greasy git much but that doesn't mean we want to see him humiliated. It reflects poorly on us."

She frowned slightly at the comment but nodded none the less. It seemed that Slytherin had lost the virtue of looking after their own that they had carried over thirty years ago. It distantly made her wonder why they hadn't taken action and saved their fellow housemate.

"I take it your talk with Nott was informative?"

She almost jumped out of her seat when his voice cut through the silence. She turned to see Snape staring at Nott's retreating back with a little contempt but not as much as he would with anyone else.

"Merlin, Mr Snape," Hermione breathed, "You frightened the dancing Hippogriffs out of me!"

"Sorry," he smirked as he sat next to her, "I have a habit of lurking undetected around here. Potter and his goons tend to hex me between the shelves."

"Yes, well," she muttered, returning back to her work, "If Potter and his goons know what's good for them they'll stay well away from you. Just because you don't want to hex them-"

"I never said that I didn't want to hex them," he cut her off.

"Whatever you say," she sighed, "Personally if it were me they would have been turned into toadstools after the first month."

"Some of us have more control than others," he goaded.

"And some of us know when to fight back when others don't," she retorted before her mind once again turned back to her work, "Did you manage to find that book on healing transfigurations?"

"Yes," he told her, pulling it out from under his arm and placing it on the table beside her, "I don't know how it's going to help you though. It's all about transfiguration used to heal the human body, not inanimate objects."

"In order to make this potion happen, I need to understand all aspects of healing," she told him as she began leafing through it, "Whether it be by wand or by potion, metal or skin, I need to know all my options."

"Then you certainly have a lot of work to do," Snape remarked.

"How are you going with the research to your own potion?" She asked him after a while, snapping one of her books shut for the night.

"Unbearably slowly," he told her, doing the same, "It seems I'm going to need some books on muggle hallucinogenics."

"Why muggle?" She asked him, "Surely the magical kind-"

"Have properties that are far more lethal to wizards than what the muggle kind do," he told her, "That is why we developed our own drugs you see. Muggle drugs are highly ineffective."

"I see," she said before standing from the table, "Well, it's late. I need to get back to my rooms for the night or Leopold will get worried."

"Ah yes, the infamous Professor Evans," he smirked, "Do you ever get tired of the snark or is it a family trait?"

She snorted. The irony was just too funny.

"Family trait," she tried not to laugh, "I'll see you tomorrow."

With that she made her way swiftly from the library to the seventh floor with nothing but potions, transfiguration and time on her mind. She knew that this would be a feat, she knew that what she had chosen to do was next to impossible but if she could pull it off then she and Severus would be home and ready for whatever Tom Riddle would throw at them. It was all the motivation she needed to work herself into the ground and not surface until her task was complete.

She muttered the password to her rooms quietly and entered slowly, almost drooping from tiredness. With lazy eyes she saw there was a small note on the coffee table…

Out with Albus. Will be back soon. Don't wait up for me.

Even in her hazy state and even though he hadn't signed it she knew that it was from her Severus. She sighed and placed her bag on the table before picking up the note. What could Albus possibly want with him at this time of night? It certainly didn't make any sense at all.

"Hello Hermione."

She swung around and raised her wand to him so quickly that she almost stumbled, her eyes wide with fear, her body trembling in anger. It was amazing how much of a reaction he could get out of her with only two simple words. He was much different than what she had expected though. He had retained all his hair as well as his nose and lips with only a few tell tale signs of age upon his face, his skin much paler but not yet translucent. Essentially he looked like a thirty-year-old version of the Tom she used to know. It was his eyes that changed him. They were the violent red she remembered from Lord Voldemort, the same crimson she had looked into on more than one occasion and that was what made her stand her ground.

"Put it down," he told her, "You won't be needing it."

"Like hell!" She yelled at him, breathing shallowly.

"You can't beat me," he told her.

"I can die trying," she growled.

"That's not what either of us want."

"Could have fooled me!"

"It's not going to happen."

"And what makes you so sure?"

He drew so fast that she had no time to react. Within moments her wand was on the floor and she was left standing their completely powerless before a mad man. Yet she stood her ground. She didn't try to run, she didn't call for help. She stood there motionlessly glaring him down as best she could and not giving him anything to run with.

"Get on with it then," she whispered coldly.

"Get on with what?" He asked her.

"You tried to kill me three weeks ago," she told him, "Now you're here to finish the job."

"No," he told her, taking a step forward, "I tried to kill you thirty years ago and you escaped me then. It's given me a lot of time to…contemplate things."

"What? Whether to use your wand or your bare hands?" She asked, her eyes wild now with fury, "How best to do it without getting caught? Which ways are going to be most painful as opposed to-"

"Did all that time travel make your brain rot?" He asked suddenly as he rolled his eyes in typical Riddle fashion, "Or perhaps it just blocked your ears. For the last time woman, I am not here to kill you."

"Then what do you want?" She asked him, her eyes becoming pools of ice and stone.

"A little chat," he told her, "Nothing more, I can assure you of that."

He seemed to be telling the truth and yet every single time she had thought he was telling the truth he had proved her wrong. It was like reading a book by its cover. No matter how many times you tried to figure out what was really on the inside you would never know.

"Come now dear, if I really wanted to hurt you I could've done it a million times over by now," he reasoned. The fact that he was right didn't offer her any comfort at all.

"Sit down," he told her softly, "Please."

Despite her conscious screaming at her to disobey his silent order she did as she was told. She backed up slowly until the backs of her legs hit the couch and she collapsed upon it with no grace whatsoever. Tom followed her over after a while and took his seat in one of the armchairs.

"No doubt you have questions that you want answered dear?" He asked her lightly.

"Yeah," she scowled, "How the hell did you get in here?"

He sighed.

"You should know better than to ask questions that I can't answer," he told her, "Unless you would like to take an Unbreakable Vow, you will have to figure that one out for yourself."

"No thank you."

"I thought as much," he smirked, "Anything else?"

"Mind if I cut your head off?"

"Ah there's that temper I missed," he whispered with a sadistic smile, "I had been wondering when I would see it again."

"You should have known that from the moment I came back it would be thrown in your direction," she spat.

"Yes, well it took me a while to figure out that you actually would be back dear," he told her, that evil smirk still sitting upon his handsome face, "Twenty two years to be precise."

He then pulled two letters out of his pockets and threw them at her. They were two letters that she thought she would never see again, two letters she wished that she had destroyed so many months ago.

The letter from Ollivander…and the impromptu address to the Order of the Phoenix.

She stared at them for the longest time before he started talking again.

"I must say dear," he told her, "If you had told me from the beginning that you were a time traveler I would have killed your friends for you a hell of a lot sooner than I did…Oh wait! I only got one of them didn't I! Tell me, what did dear Draco look like before he died? I do so enjoy watching victims' final moments…"

Her anger was beginning to rise as the heaving of her chest increased and her breathing became labored with silent rage.

"Seeing the fear in thier eyes," he went on, "It's the most beautiful thing that you could possibly imagine. The realization, the final acceptance of death as they finally acknowledge your superior power…it's nothing short of breathtaking-"

She was on him faster than she could remember, her fists hitting him in every possible place that she could reach, crying out her fury. But he soon overpowered her and it was soon she who was pinned to the chair. He held his own anger back though and settled for smirking at her again, forgoing his own need to scowl in favor of irritating her, of making her want to punch him over and over again until that smirk could no longer form over his lips.

"Now, now dear," he said patronizingly, "That's no way to treat your guests."

"You're not a guest," she spat, "You're an intruder! Now get off me!"

"No," he said simply, "I rather like where I am."

"Get off me or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" He asked, "Face it Hermione you aren't in any position to be making threats or exacting any kind of revenge. I may not be out to kill you anymore but I will hurt you if I have to. All I want to do is talk-"

"All you want to do is make me suffer more than what I am," she snarled, "All you want to do is make my life a living hell before you finally realize that I'm of no use to you whatsoever and end it all. You don't want to talk. You want to goad and gloat-"

The brief feel of his lips cut her off and it only made her struggle harder.

"And kiss," he whispered, "And touch," his hand began riding up her thigh, "But you're nowhere near ready for that, are you, dearest?"

"Try that again and I'll bite," she growled.

"Not nearly as hard as I will," Tom finally glared at her, "Now settle down or I might just have to give a demonstration when dear Leopold comes home."

That made her stop. She stared at him with a mixture of fear and indignation but did not try to struggle from him any longer. There was only one last question left on her lips.

"Why are you here?" She whispered.

"To give you a message, Hermione," he told her quietly, "A message that I would never trust with any of the dim witted idiots who follow me."

"And what's that?" She whispered, almost shaking now as his hand came up to cup her chin.

"You need to be careful dearest," he told her, "Because the one you need to look out for, isn't me."

"What do you mean?" She whispered.

"The devils are inside the walls," he whispered back, "And they aren't reporting back to me. They may be your friends now but soon enough they will turn on you dear…You know of whom I speak…"

She did know but she didn't want to speak his name out loud. It would be just like him really; pretend to be a friend, guide you through seemingly impossible moments and then turn his back for "the greater good".

"You've already experienced it before, haven't you?" Tom hissed, "He's already done it to you before."

"That doesn't mean things can't change," she hissed back.

"Things have already changed," he whispered to her, "Dumbledore is not the saint you knew in 1944. He doesn't care about you and he doesn't care about your objective. All he wants to do is bring me down as soon as possible and he will do anything to achieve that."

"I'm not going to let you spill poison into my ears," she growled.

The smirk was back within moments.

"Poison has already been spilled," he told her, "And just because it isn't mine, that doesn't make it any less lethal. Do keep that in mind the next time he tells you that he can't help you and that you have to get home on your own."

She stared up at him as he finally got off her and began to walk about the room. She straightened herself up and pulled her skirt back down from where it had ridden up.

"How do you know what he said?" She asked him softly, knowing full well that he wouldn't lie about that, "How do you know that I even told him where I was from, what I was doing here?"

He stopped walking and faced her, his eyes now lingering over her left wrist where the mark he had given her still shone in the light.

"I trust you know that that mark is no ordinary mark?" He asked her.

She gave a snort and rolled her eyes at him as memories of that last afternoon flashed across her mind.

"You tried to brainwash me with it, of course it's no ordinary mark," she spat.

"Well, ever since you botched that idea up," he sneered briefly, "It's left a faint connection between us. Not much of one, but enough to let me read your emotions every so often, possibly even break into your mind if I concentrate hard enough. When you…arrived, it opened at full force. I couldn't see where you were but I knew you were alive, I knew Malone was dead and that you were with people you knew. After a few hours of being trapped there I surmised that you were with Dumbledore by the way that your feelings of resentment and adoration fluctuated. I still remember how you were at Slughorn's Christmas party all those years ago…"

Yes, her mixture of annoyance and pleasure at seeing the old man did not go unnoticed by her either.

"The point is," he went on, stopping just in front of her once more, "That he and I now have the same objective and you have a very big choice a head of you Hermione."

"And what objective would that be?" She sneered at him.

"To possess you at all costs," he said flatly, "Don't be so naïve as to think that Dumbledore isn't tempted by the information you hold. He will use you if he has to in order to bring me down."

"And you wouldn't?" She sneered.

"No," he told her, "I wouldn't. I learned a long time ago that to try and control you is a big mistake. Perhaps Dumbledore will learn too late and it will turn to my advantage?"

"So if you don't want to control me, then what do you want from me?" She asked.

"I want you, by my side as I conquer the world," he whispered, his honesty rocking her foundations, "I want you to be there to witness my greatest triumph, I want you to be a part of it."

"I'm sorry Tom but I refuse to be a pawn in your war," she told him, doing her best to sound disgusted, "You generally don't look after your toys, you see."

Tom rolled his eyes and knelt before her, his hands resting on her thighs as he gazed up at her and held her attention.

"You really don't listen anymore do you?" He whispered, "I don't want a pawn, Hermione. You're too good for that."

She simply stared at him.

"I want a partner," he told her, "I want an equal who will help me govern the world with an iron fist and you are the only one who is capable of that, dear."

"And here I thought you were going to do that all by yourself," she sneered.

"I would be a fool to try," he said honestly, "A country is one thing, a continent is another but the entire world is a feat of its own. Why do you think Alexander failed? Hitler? Grindlewald? They all tried to do it on their own and because of that they lost track of their armies or got greedy and foolish or simply didn't know how to keep their followers in check. I've learned from their mistakes, Hermione. The question is, have you learned from yours?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

"Despite the inadequacies and the secrecy and the general idiocy, you've been fighting on the side of the light your entire life, haven't you?" He asked her in harsh tones, "I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. The disgust there is unmistakable. And yet look at where it's left you? Broken, defeated, powerless…stuck."

"No it-"

"You don't see it now but eventually their rules will come back to bite you Hermione," he told her, his hands creeping upward, "And when they do you're going to have to choose."

"Between what?" She whispered.

"Them…or yourself."

She said nothing for several moments as his fingers drew lazy circles over her skirt and she glared down at him, doing her best to ignore the sensations he was provoking in her.

"I know, Hermione," he whispered on, "That you are essentially an unselfish creature, that you always put others before yourself but how often has that paid off for you? How often have you achieved your goals because of it?"

She continued to say nothing as he stood and leaned forward, placing his lips by her ear.

"Just think about it," he told her before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

He then let go of her entirely. She closed her eyes at the loss of contact, his scent still lingering on the air, enticing her, tempting her…

"I'll be back later," he told her, "Tell no one you have seen me or you might find life a little more difficult than it already is. As I said before, I'm not afraid to hurt you if it is necessary."

Before she could even open her eyes again…he was gone.


	7. Keeping Secrets

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Here's the next bit guys, hope you enjoy it!  
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**As always, R&R!  
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**Thanks heaps!  
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**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Six: Keeping Secrets

His presence on her body and in her mind plagued her to the point where she could only drop off to sleep at three in the morning. She was both frightened by it and strangely excited. The fear was obvious to her. He had gained access to her rooms without her knowledge, quickly and without being detected by the castle wards. He could have done anything to her and no one would have noticed a thing until Severus came home to see her mangled body strewn across the room. More than that, he could have launched an attack on the castle from right within and many students and teachers would have suffered considerably.

The exhilaration and excitement was not so easy to explain. It was almost as if some part of her was happy to see him, a part of her that she chose quite adamantly to ignore. After all there was also a very strong part of her that hated him for all that he had done and all that he would do…with or without her help. He had murdered her parents, murdered Harry, murdered Draco, turned her life upside down in more ways than one and destroyed all that she had believed in several times over. Yet she couldn't shake the respect she had for him, for his abilities, for his skills. No matter how much she hated him, she couldn't help but acknowledge that all he had done and would do was great…terrible, but great.

It was because of all this that she tossed and turned that night, trying to shake the feeling of his hands on her, his lips grazing hers, knowing full well that if she let it linger then she would never be able to think clearly. No matter what she thought of him, he had a hold over her body, and that was a dangerous thought in itself.

When she woke the next morning she ventured to the library by herself, quite intent upon not speaking to either Severus or Mr Snape before she had her emotions and her mind under control. She knew that Severus was a legillemans but she wasn't quite sure of his younger counter part. She didn't want to run the risk of him figuring anything out, lest there be some unfortunate consequences.

She sat at one of the tables quietly and pulled out her work for her potion. When she had first started this project it had been more out of necessity than anything else. It would be the perfect way to fix the time turner to send her home, after all time turners were very complex objects. They were filled with all manner of metal, wood and so it would take a lot of concentration and time to fix it by hand, both of which neither Severus or Hermione had. It seemed to her that it was easier to figure out a miracle potion that would do the job for them than do it themselves, something that, surprisingly, Severus agreed with. When she had told him of her project she had expected him to roll his eyes and call her an over ambitious chit. What she didn't expect was for him to raise his eyebrows and then praise her for her initiative.

And so she sat there at the library for what seemed like an age, trying to concentrate and failing miserably. There was too much going on for her to sit there and study, too much for her to retreat into her usual solitude of books and parchment. She needed a new outlet, something that would get rid of her frustration and anger and the stress.

"Miss Evans?"

She whipped around quickly to see Young Snape staring down at her in confusion. She breathed just before she berated him.

"You have got to stop sneaking up on me like that," she scolded. It was then that she looked over his appearance. His usual school robes were covered in green slime and his hair appeared to be greasier than ever.

"What happened to you?" She asked incredulously as she stood and began to look him over for any sign of injury.

"Potions accident," he mumbled as she cleaned him up. She shook her head at him and scoured his clothes clean.

"You weren't at breakfast," he told her.

"I wanted to get working early," she lied easily.

"You should have waited for me," he told her as he sat down next to her.

"Sorry," she whispered, "But I really did want to get started."

She went to go back to writing again but he stole the quill from her hand and looked at her quizzically. After a few moments she couldn't take it anymore.

"Do I have something in my teeth or have I grown horns? Because I can't for the life of me understand why you keep staring at me," she huffed.

"Not once in the last three weeks have you lied to me, why do you start now?" He asked her.

She was taken aback by his question, so much so that she couldn't think of a reply.

"Is something troubling you?" He asked,

This also made her blanche. Apparently he was more empathetic than what she thought. The night she had first met him he had been uncomfortable with her emotions, with her tears and yet now he sat here asking her if she was ok? For a few moments it made no sense but then she realised that in the last three weeks they had connected and now he had come to care for her, however shallowly it might be.

"Yes, but-" she hesitated, "I can't tell you."

He scowled at this.

"It's not because I don't trust you," she told him, "To be completely honest, out of all the people here you are the only one I trust."

"If that is the case then-"

"I- I just can't," she whispered imploringly, "Please don't ask me again."

He hesitated for a few moments.

"Has it- Has it got something to do with why you're here?" He asked.

She froze. Why did he have to be so god damn intuitive?

"The rumors have been circulating since you arrived," he informed her, "People think that you were running from You-Know-Who and that he's still after you."

She tried to hold her composure, she really did but she was failing rather spectacularly. She was wringing her hands, biting her bottom lip from nervousness, almost shaking at the prospect that he may figure her out. Could he smell him on her? Could he see him in her eyes? She didn't know nor did she care. She just wanted him to stop talking.

"They say that you have something he wants," he continued, "They keep talking about-"

"Severus?"

They both turned at the sound of the voice, surprisingly familiar to the two and yet one that they did not expect to hear. At the entrance to the library stood an older woman tattered black robes. She had the most beautiful black hair but apart from that she was quite plain with pale skin and dark eyes.

"Mum?"

She stared between the two of them with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as Severus got up and walked over to her. She was at least a foot shorter than he was and so it was a little awkward when he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which once more made her stare in shock. It was odd to see either Severus show physical affection.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her with a slight note of irritation, "You need to get home. Who knows what could-"

"Stop fussing," she ordered, "And tuck in your shirt. You look sloppy."

Hermione couldn't help a snort at that and Severus threw a glare in her direction as he did as he was told. It was then that Eileen turned her eyes on the girl at the table. She quickly hid a look of shock at the site of the still eighteen-year-old Hermione Evans before walking over to her.

"It's good to see you again Miss Evans," she whispered with heavy emotion in her voice as she extended her hand. Hermione could see tears welling up in her eyes as she took the delicate hand and clasped it in her own.

"Again?" Severus asked with a confused voice.

"I went to school with her mother, Severus," she told her son without looking away, "When you wrote to me and told me that you had made friends with a 'Miss Hermione Evans' I just had to come and see for myself. After all, it isn't a very common name."

"No it isn't," Hermione whispered, "How are you Mrs Snape?"

"Much better now," she smiled. Severus looked between the two of them for several moments, slightly confused by the emotion that was hanging about the air but said nothing.

"Severus, my things are sitting in the Entrance Hall," Eileen suddenly said, "Would you be a dear and go and fetch them?"

"Can't you get an elf to do it mother?" He groaned.

"It'll be good for you," she countered, "Now off you go!"

Snape gave another moan before traipsing off out of the library and the moment they could no longer hear his footsteps the two women embraced, tears flooding down both their cheeks uncontrollably.

"I thought he'd killed you for the longest time," Eileen sobbed, "I thought for so long that he'd- he'd."

"I thought for sure that he would do the same to you," Hermione cried to her, clutching her tightly, "Did-did he hurt you-?"

"No, no!" Eileen assured her, "He wasn't given the chance!"

"Tell me everything!"

She did. It took her a little while, due to a few sobs in the middle but soon enough Hermione knew everything that had happened after she had left. She couldn't help but feel both grateful and fearful for Cygnus' and Druella's actions. No doubt they had earned a place on Tom's black list. Most of all, however, she was frightened for Eileen.

"You just walked out?" She whispered, "And he didn't try to stop you?"

She shook her head.

"He wouldn't have been able to if he tried," she told her, "I had a ton of potions sitting in my pocket that would have blown him sky high. Not to mention there was no way he could have explained it to Dumbledore."

"But surely he would have-"

"I never gave him the chance," she told her, "The moment I left the castle I moved out of the family home and straight into a muggle hotel room. I put wards on every place that I stayed until I met Tobias and we settled down at Spinner's End and I had Severus. He doesn't know where to find me and even if he does there is no way possible that he would be able to get to me. I had Dumbledore put the wards around my home personally, some of them were borrowed from the protection around Hogwarts…"

"Essentially, he can't touch you," Hermione concluded, "But what about Severus? Surely he knows you have a son."

Eileen's eyes turned dark.

"He does," she said gravely, "And he wants him. I told Severus from the moment that he boarded that train not to draw attention to himself. I told him that if someone wants to hex you then let them, if someone picks a fight, walk away. But despite all the suffering he went through trying to fly under the radar Tom still wants him."

Well that explained a few things.

"He can't have him though," Hermione shook her head, "I can see it in his eyes, Severus adores you. In order to get to him, Tom would have to get you out of the way without Severus hating him for it and that is-"

"Impossible," Eileen smirked, "That is exactly what I told Abraxus a few weeks ago."

"Abraxus? Are you still…?"

"No," she shook her head, "It ended the day you left."

"I'm sorry," she told her genuinely, "I know you really loved him."

Eileen smiled sadly.

"Sometimes love just isn't enough."

They paused for a few moments.

"Whatever happened to Cygnus and Druella?" Hermione asked, "Do you know?"

"All I know is that they have three daughters and are living somewhere in London," Eileen shook her head, "I basically shut myself off from the Wizarding World the day I left Hogwarts. I haven't seen or heard from anyone since then. The only time I ever learn anything is if it's in the paper."

"Fair enough I guess," Hermione told her, "Tell me though, why is it you're here?"

Eileen hesitated.

"You know how I told you Abraxus came to see me?" She asked and Hermione nodded, "It wasn't a social visit."

Hermione thought nothing of it.

"He was there on his behalf," Eileen told her, "He told me that Tom knows you're back in the country."

"That was rather obvious when he invaded my room last night."

Eileen froze, her eyes widened and her jaw went slack. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Did you really expect him to wait for me to venture into the outside world?" She asked, "Come on Eileen, you and I both know that he's far too impatient for that."

"How the hell did he get inside the castle?" She hissed.

"I don't know," Hermione told her, "But the point is that he came to see me."

"What did he want?"

"Supposedly to chat, but he managed to feel me up in the process."

Eileen stared at her blankly again. Hermione rolled her eyes once more.

"Did you really expect him to leave me alone?" She asked, "Eileen he's a sexually repressed, egotistical maniac, of course he's going to cop a feel! Besides, I was his first and only girlfriend and as far as I can tell he hasn't taken another woman into his bed."

"He wouldn't," Eileen told her, "There's a reason you're the only one he took into his bed and it's got nothing to do with keeping you on his side."

It was now Hermione's turn to stare blankly before the tension broke from her face.

"No," she laughed, "You can't be serious."

"Deadly."

"Eileen, believe me when I tell you that he is incapable of-"

"Perhaps mine and your definition but in his own sick and twisted way-"

"You don't know him like I do!"

"There's a very good reason for that and you are-"

"No." Hermione told her firmly, "He doesn't and he never will. He's just after a partner with perks, nothing more."

"So he's not trying to kill you anymore?"

"Nope."

"Well there goes the "if I can't have you, no one can" angle."

"He's also warning me away from Dumbledore."

Eileen's brow furrowed.

"Surely he knows that won't work," she said, "I mean, you've known Dumbledore for a long time-"

"And because of that, I know what he's really like," Hermione sighed, "And no matter how much I don't like it, I can't deny that he's right."

"What do you mean?" Eileen asked her, "I thought Dumbledore was good-"

"Oh he is," she answered, "He has all the right intentions, he just…goes about it the wrong way."

Eileen turned her face away from the now younger woman and thought for a few moments, wondering if she had made the right choices now that she had all the information at her disposal.

"Am I right to trust him?" She asked, "With Severus and with my safety? He suggested that I come here today after I told him of Abraxus' visit and-"

"I think you'll be fine in his care," Hermione told her, "Regardless of what he does, he genuinely does care for those around him. Just be careful."

Eileen nodded and placed a hand over hers just as Severus re-entered the room with about a dozen bags close behind him.

"Are you moving in or something?" He grumbled.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Eileen told him, "Dumbledore offered me a place here, looking after you two while Slughorn is tending to his other classes."

Severus' brow furrowed at her words before he marched over to her and the bags dropped to the floor once more. Eileen looked confused when her son took a hold of her face and started to examine her, checking for wounds of any kind.

"Severus I'm fine," she protested, swatting him away.

"Then why are you moving in?" He asked her.

"Because we are in dark times and I want to be closer to my son, is that such a crime?" She asked him.

He seemed to relax a little at that but continued to check her over until he felt that she was completely fine. He gave a sideways look at Hermione for a few moments, telling her ever so subtly that he would like a word with his mother. She obliged without question.

"I've got a lot of work to do down in the labs," she told them quickly, "I'll see you both later perhaps?"

Eileen gave her a smile and Snape gave her a curt nod. With that, she said her goodbyes with the promise to meet again later on and ventured out of the library, however she had no intention of going to the potions lab. She instead ventured a few floors down and across a few corridors towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She walked in without knocking and saw that Severus was halfway through a theoretical lesson on Inferi with the Seventh years. Potter and Black gazed at her through fearful and defiant eyes as Remus and Lily looked politely surprised at her entrance just as all the others in the room did. She received a small nod of acknowledgement from Nott, which she returned half-heartedly, not wishing to offend and yet not wishing to encourage either. She wasn't all that fond of him after all.

Severus immediately stopped his talking when she entered the room.

"We have a problem," she told him as she strode forwards.

He didn't hesitate in his movements. He wandlessly turned the pages in all the books that were scattered on desks until it reached the number he was looking for.

"Read," he ordered, "Silently. If I hear one word out of any of you it will be detention for the rest of the month scrubbing cauldrons in the dungeons!"

They then swept out of the room and into his office after listening to a few groans and moans from the other students. Once the door was safely locked and made sound proof they began to talk freely.

"What's happened?" He asked.

"Eileen is here," she told him gravely, "And she plans on staying."

She saw him go rigid but other than that he didn't show any other signs of discomfiture.

"What are her reasons for moving from Spinner's End?" He asked quietly.

"Abraxus came to see her…about us."

He closed his eyes and began pacing about the office.

"He knows we're here," he stated. Hermione knew he wasn't talking about Malfoy. She nodded and sighed.

"We would have been naïve to think that our presence would have gone unnoticed," she whispered, "I just didn't think he would notice so quickly."

Severus said nothing. Instead he gave his desk an almighty kick and elicited a grunt of pain that wasn't entirely physical. He then collapsed into his chair and buried his head in his hands. It was clear to her then that he was a very troubled man. She had seen him struggle in the three weeks that they had been there, to the point where he would disappear at all hours of the night and not return until the early hours of the morning. When she would question him he would tell her that he had been off by the lake…thinking. She knew he was in pain, she knew it.

"Severus-"

"Is it not bad enough that I have to suffer her presence," he spat, "But I have to have my mother paraded in front of me as well?"

Hermione walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her cheek to his.

"We'll find a way to send her home if you feel-"

"No," he whispered, returning her affection with some hesitation, "This is the safest place for her to be. Voldemort can't get through the wards here…and if I remember correctly, hers were shoddy when I was young."

Hermione froze at his words. She should have realized it before when Eileen had been right in front of her but it just hadn't clicked. The woman was Undesirable Number One in Voldemort's book; she was the woman to kill. She was now staying at the castle…and he was capable of getting into Hermione's room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Professor but-"

They broke apart instantly as the door opened to reveal Lily Evans looking rather distressed until she saw the two of them and then looked confused.

"What is it Evans?" Severus snapped.

"Nott has got Peter in a bit of a…sticky situation and James and Sirius are going to do something really stupid if you don't do something."

Severus gave another growl and got out of his chair to see what was going on. Hermione had expected Lily to follow after him but she instead stayed where she was. She stared at the redhead in confusion for a few moments before she smiled.

"In all honesty it's not Nott's fault," she told her, "I asked James and Sirius to make a distraction for me and they ended up provoking him."

"What did you need a distraction for?" Hermione asked her, taking the seat that Severus had vacated.

"I wanted to talk to you…alone," she told her.

"If this has something to do with what happened in the dungeons-"

"No!" Lily said quickly, "It hasn't got anything to do with that- Well it does sort of but- God I really am stuffing this up."

Hermione watched her flounder for her words and felt no sympathy for her at all. She had broken Severus heart on more than one occasion and even though she was the mother of her best friend she would not show any compassion towards the girl who had been so unnecessarily cruel.

"It's…" She trailed off, "Never mind, I'll just go-"

"No," Hermione stopped her, "Say what you came to say."

Lily slowly turned around and looked at her and chose her words very carefully.

"How-" she stuttered, "How is he?"

Hermione didn't have to ask for clarification.

"You mean since you broke his heart?" She asked coldly.

At least she had the decency to look ashamed.

"He told you?" She asked.

"He didn't have to," Hermione told her, "The way he looked at you in the dungeons and every other time you grace us with your presence told me everything I needed to know."

"I didn't want it to be like this," Lily shook her head.

"Well it is."

There was a pause between them before Lily took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

"Look," she said, "I know what I'm about to say is going to sound really hypocritical but I won't be able to sleep at night until I do."

She looked up at Hermione and Hermione waited for her to continue.

"Just-" she stuttered again, "Just don't hurt him."

Hermione's eyebrows threatened to hit the roof.

"Excuse me?"

"I've watched him with you over the past few weeks," she said quickly, "He's learning to trust you-"

"And you think I would abuse that trust?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying-"

"Then what are you saying?"

She paused again and took another deep breath. It was obviously rather painful for the redhead to be there.

"He's starting to care for you," Lily explained, "In more ways than just one."

Hermione furrowed her brow.

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

It seemed that Lily now found it safe enough to sit down. She took the chair opposite the desk and looked at the older woman imploringly.

"The way he looks at you, the way he protects you from all of the others," she went on, "He doesn't show affection like everyone else. He's taken at least six pranks from the Marauders on your behalf since that incident in the Dungeons and I'm guessing he hasn't said a word about it."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"He wasn't in the lab this morning was he?" She asked and Lily shook her head.

"They pelted him with dung bombs and bubotuber puss at breakfast," Lily said in grave tones. Hermione couldn't help but growl and slam her fist on the desk.

"I know you care for him too," Lily continued on, "I can see it in your eyes but…"

She trailed off again and Hermione looked up at her once more.

"But what?" She asked.

"But if you don't feel the same way about him…if you don't love him like the way he loves you then don't let it build," Lily whispered, "That was what got me into my mess. In the end I broke him. I don't want to see you do the same."

"I see."

"Please, just do what I couldn't and cut him off early so that he doesn't get hurt like that again," Lily told her imploringly as she stood from her seat, "Have the strength to do what I couldn't."


	8. Breaking Promises

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Here's the next bit guys, hope you enjoy it!  
**

**As always, R&R!  
**

**Thanks heaps!  
**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Breaking Promises

Hermione walked into her rooms with a nervous cloud hanging around her head. How could she have been so stupid? She needed to find some way to get Eileen out of that castle and fast or otherwise Tom would be having Prince for breakfast tomorrow morning. She started to pace about the living room, her head in her hands at times as she tried to get her brain to work but after a full day's brewing and her conversations with Lily, Severus and Eileen running about like headless hippogriffs inside her head she really couldn't concentrate on anything but her own panic.

She instantly stopped her pacing and muttering when there was a knock at the door. She hesitated for a few moments, wondering whether she should answer it but in the end her curiosity won out and she opened the door.

"Hermione I though-AH!"

Eileen almost squealed as she was shoved inside.

"What the hell?" The older woman demanded.

"You have to leave Hogwarts," Hermione told her quickly.

Eileen furrowed her brow.

"I just got here," she complained.

"You have to leave!" She insisted.

"Why?"

"Think back to our conversation in the library," she said impatiently.

There was a pause between them in which Eileen's eyes widened. Apparently it hadn't dawned on her either that Hogwarts was no longer safe, especially to her. But she seemed to stop herself from panicking. She swallowed her fear and looked Hermione directly in the eye.

"No," she said, more confidently than she felt.

Hermione stared at her in a mixture of fear and confusion and downright frustration.

"What?" She whispered.

"No," Eileen repeated, "I left you once before, I'm not doing it again."

"Eileen this is no bloody time to find your inner Gryffindor!" She screeched.

"It's not about finding my inner Gryffindor!" She yelled back, instantly quelling the younger woman, "It's about keeping promises. I promised myself the moment that I woke up in the Hospital Wing that if you ever came back I would never let him hurt you again. I've kept my son out of his path and now I'm going to do the same for you!"

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

A chill went up Hermione's spine when she heard his voice and she instantly threw herself in front of Eileen, her arms spread wide to shield the woman. For her part, Eileen didn't cower away as Abraxus had expected her to do. She stood with her back straight and her head held high, ready to face whatever Tom had in store for her.

"Hermione, dear," he greeted her with a cold expression, "Please move away from the nasty blood traitor, we don't want to have you contaminated now do we?"

"I'll move when you leave," she growled, "You've already taken Draco from me, I won't let you have Eileen."

"You don't have a choice in the matter," he told her, his eyes still on the older woman, "I've waited far too long to have her slip away from me again…untouched."

"What are you going to do? Curse your partner?" She asked with more venom in her voice than she had intended.

Tom stopped and looked at them then. She had a point there. No matter how many times he could knock her out of the way he knew that she would just get back up again and stand in his way. Add to that the fact that she would be more emotionally damaged by his actions, not only would he feel it but it would set him back at least a few months in his goal of attaining her.

It pained him, it really did, but if he wanted Hermione by his side then he would have to leave Eileen alone…for now. He would find a way around it, just like he planned to find his way around that love her son held for her.

For this moment in time he had to look at the bigger picture and put his immediate pleasure aside. He lowered his wand from the two of them and pocketed it once more, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Eileen and wide eyes from Hermione.

"Sit," he commanded quietly. Hermione didn't move and neither did Eileen. Hermione seemed to be almost shaking with the anticipation of a sneak attack. Tom just rolled his eyes at the two of them and then took his own seat in her armchair.

"Stand then," he sneered, rolling his eyes. Hermione eyes him suspiciously but said nothing against him. She then did the oddest thing by sitting down and taking Eileen to sit next to her on the couch. He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Not in the slightest," she replied immediately, "I can just tell that you aren't going to attack us."

"How?" He asked.

"I don't know," she whispered back, "I just do."

He smirked at her but said nothing. Instead he turned his attention to Eileen.

"I must say that you've aged terribly Prince," he sneered, "Why Abraxus still wants you is completely beyond me."

"Right," Eileen spat back, "And all those glamours your using to cover up your decrepit face are very attractive."

He snorted and waved his wand over his face. Instantly the hair disappeared, his skin became translucent and sickly and his nose seemed to melt back into his face. His eyes seemed to glow more fiercely as his fingers lengthened and the nails grew. Hermione almost gasped at the sight. This was the man she remembered, the monster that haunted her every dream. This was the true Lord Voldemort of her memories.

"You mean this?" He asked, his voice suddenly high and cold, "This is the illusion Prince, not the truth. How am I supposed to strike fear into the hearts of men when I remind people of the lead for 'Gone with the Wind'?"

"Use your charming personality, I'm sure that will help," Eileen sneered, "Now put your face away before I vomit."

He simply smirked at her and waved his wand once more, returning him to his previous form, making Hermione terribly uncomfortable between them. She gave Eileen a warning hit, telling her to stop goading him because there was no way that they could win if he changed his mind. Eileen just gave her a look that plainly said she didn't care and that it was too much fun. Hermione gave up on her and turned her attentions in Tom's direction.

"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I told you I would be back later," he said, "Did you doubt me?"

"No, I just hoped that later meant much later," she muttered, "What is it you originally came here for? I doubt you have anymore warnings to offer seeing as I've only been back for a few weeks."

"Considering our current situation I would say that my original purpose is no longer relevant," he told her with a condescending air to his voice, "So why don't we just get down to business?"

Hermione swallowed and looked him directly in the eye.

"Alright," she said, "My objective is plain and simple. I want you to leave Eileen alone, completely forget about your vendetta against her."

"That is a hefty price you are asking me to pay, Hermione," he told her, his gaze suddenly icy.

"It wasn't her fault that I left and you know it," she glared.

"No but she was certainly party to letting you leave," he glared back, "And all who were involved must be punished."

"You haven't got a snowflake's chance in hell of punishing-"

"Eileen, shut up," Hermione said quietly with another warning look.

"Yes, Prince, do shut that gaping hole in your face," Tom smirked at her. Eileen glared daggers at him. He then turned back to Hermione with a contemplative smile, "I will of course expect something in return for my generosity."

"Pfft, generosity," Eileen muttered and rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked him, completely ignoring her friend while simultaneously saving her life. Tom stared down at her and smiled.

"I think what I want is rather obvious, dearest," he said condescendingly. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Why is it men only ever have their minds on one thing?" She muttered, looking away from him to her twiddling thumbs.

"Can you really call that thing a man?" Eileen muttered back.

"One evening," Tom told her, "On a night of my choosing."

"And what will that evening entail?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Now, now darling, just because I want to screw your brains out, doesn't mean I'm going to force myself on you," he told her plainly, "No. On this night you and I will go somewhere…neutral and we will talk."

She continued to stare at him. She couldn't help it. All that he was suggesting, all the thoughts he was putting inside her head sounded reasonable and easily procured and yet as she stared at him she could see the evil lurking, the cogs of darkness turning inside his head. The way he looked at her held such intention and such determination that she was almost frightened more by this than when he was actively trying to kill her.

"What's the catch?"

Eileen's voice brought her out of her reverie. She looked around to the older woman who was glaring at the man before them with more malice and hate than she had ever seen in anyone before. Not even Harry had gazed upon the Dark Lord with such desire to kill. Then again, Hermione had always known that a mother's love could do anything to a woman, including turn her into the ultimate killing machine.

The Dark Lord turned his gaze upon her for a brief moment before turning back to Hermione.

"The only catch," he told her, "Is that for this one night you have to cast aside the fact that I am the Dark Lord Voldemort and you are a fighter for Dumbledore."

She glared at him. She just couldn't help it.

"I'm not a fighter for Dumbledore," she said coldly.

"Good," he smiled, "Then you're already half way there."

"There is no way that we-"

"You aren't involved in this Prince-"

"Yes I bloody well am!"

"I'll do it."

"And I'm not about to- WHAT?"

Eileen stared at her in panic and shock and Hermione simply looked at him calmly. His smile widened. He was happy. Very happy. Far too happy. Eileen didn't like it one bit and truth be told, neither did Hermione but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Swear it."

She stared at him.

"What?"

He leaned forward and placed his hand over hers.

"Make the Unbreakable Vow and I will leave Eileen alone."

Her heart was beating much faster than it should as his skin connected with hers. She could distantly hear Eileen protesting on some far off planet but she couldn't seem to focus on her. Some part of her knew that he was using the bond between them to influence her decision too but for that moment in time she really didn't care.

And that was when she felt her hand being ripped away from him. All her thoughts, her fears and insecurities came back as she felt Eileen pull her off to one side and watched as Tom rolled his eyes and stayed in his seat.

"You can't possibly be contemplating this!" The woman hissed at her, "I won't let you trap yourself in his web of lies just for my sake!"

"I'm sorry Eileen but you don't really have a choice in the matter," Hermione whispered back, "If this is the only way to keep you safe-"

"It is not the only way to keep me safe!" She told her, "I can go back home, I can run abroad-"

"And you don't think he'll find you?" Hermione scoffed.

"It took him thirty years to find me this time around and that was only because I came here," she argued darkly.

"Do you love your son?" Hermione sighed, placing her head in her left hand, taking a covert glance in his direction. He knew everything that was going on. She knew it. He knew that she knew it. The only reason that they had been moved away was to placate Eileen.

At the same time Hermione had hoped that she would never have to draw this card. She was deliberately pulling on the heartstrings of a soon-to-be broken mother and she hated herself for it. She knew that Eileen would hate her for it too but she also had faith that the woman would thank her for it later. This was the only way.

"What?" She whispered.

"Do you love your son?"

Eileen gaped at her like a fish.

"Of course I love my son!"

"Then do what is right by him," she whispered, "Right now he needs his mother more than anything else in the world."

Hermione could see tears welling up in her eyes and her own heart gave an almighty heave. She was going to regret this, she knew she was going to regret this badly.

"Are-" Eileen struggled, "Please don't tell me that you're asking me to choose between my best friend and-"

"If you are a good mother then it shouldn't be a choice," she whispered, feeling her voice begin to break.

"No," Eileen whispered, "It shouldn't."

She looked as though she couldn't decide whether to be disgusted, frightened or relieved that the choice had been taken out of her hands, that it was no longer about herself but about someone that she cared about. However the glare that came next almost broke Hermione in two.

"If this is some ploy, some kind of plan to get back into his bed-"

"Too many people have died for me, Eileen," she whispered back, "I won't let you be the next. Think of me what you will, so long as you are alive, I don't care."

Eileen looked down at the floor for a few moments before looking back up at her with an earnest look of apology.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I shouldn't have said it. But you need to realize that you don't have to do this-"

"Yes, Eileen," Hermione cut her off, "I do."

The woman looked defeated. For the first time since she had known Eileen Prince she now had a glimpse of the broken and defeated woman that Severus spoke of. It was not something she wanted to see again. Eileen brought Hermione into her arms but was suddenly ripped away again.

When Hermione recovered from almost being thrown from the floor she saw Eileen being forcefully dragged away by Tom who looked thoroughly irritated. Apparently he had had enough.

"Wh-what? Get off me Riddle before I-"

"For the last time Prince, shut your pie hole."

And with that, he unceremoniously threw her out the door. Hermione heard her banging on the door for several moments before Tom rolled his eyes, opened it again, said something to her and then slammed it shut once more to look at a now rather annoyed Hermione.

"Well," he said as he walked towards her and stopped just an inch away, "Now that the annoyance is gone, shall we start on the terms of the vow?"

She glared at him.

"There isn't going to be a vow," she told him coldly, "And if you think you can manipulate me through this so called bond in order to get one then you are mistaken."

She walked away from him and over to a cupboard to retrieve a bottle of firewhiskey. It belonged to Severus but she figured that he wouldn't miss it all that much.

"There will be a vow if you want Prince to-"

"If you want me to actually listen to you and not tune out all the filth you try to convince me with then you have to start trusting me," she told him nonchalantly, "There will be no vow, end of discussion."

He raised his eyebrow when she opened the bottle of whiskey and poured a single glass. For a moment he thought that she was going to down the glass but instead she brought the bottle to her lips. Before the cool liquid could grace her tongue he vanished the bottle and the glass and glared at her when she almost shrieked in protest.

"And if you expect me to respond favorably to your demands then you had best lay off the liquor," he told her coldly, "I will not have a drunk for a partner."

"Oh good! Problem solved then! You go and conquer the world and I will sit here and drink to my heart's content!"

"I remember what I saw inside your mind all those years ago Hermione," he told her, "I will not allow you to slip back into your alcoholic-"

"I am not an alcoholic!" She said indignantly, "So what if I indulged-"

"You didn't indulge," he said, rising from his seat and walking over to her, "You drank yourself stupid because your little friends couldn't do as they were told, because they were too dimwitted to-"

He was cut off by her laughter. Her dark, almost insane laughter. It was something that he had never heard from her before, at least that he remembered. It was both beautiful and frightening to him.

"I didn't almost drink myself into an early grave every night because the Order couldn't get their shit together," she sneered, "I downed every ounce of Firewhiskey, Mead and Butterbeer that I could find because of you!"

His stare remained blank.

"Every single spare moment I had was devoted to drowning the thought of you out of my head," she said cruelly, "You destroyed everything I had worked for in my life. My family, my friends, my entire world! And now you sit here asking me to be a part of the tyranny that obliterated everything I knew?"

"And what would they say now?" He asked her. Her breathing became shallower as she looked upon him, her rage becoming murderous.

"What are you talking about?"

"What would your so called friends think about you now?" He asked her as he moved even closer to her, "You spent months in my company-"

"That was to learn how to kill you," she sneered, "Nothing more."

"Oh," he said patronizingly, "So is that the reason you gave your virginity to me? Oh yes, I knew about your…status. It was painfully obvious that no other man had ever touched you. Was it because you were saving yourself just for a mission like this? Funny, Hermione, I never picked you for a whore."

Her hand flew so fast that she didn't even register swinging it. She could feel tears running down her face as she glared up at him so coldly that chills were beginning to move up her own spine. His head had snapped to the side and when he had recovered from the slight bout of shock that she had given him all he did was smirk at her.

"Face it Hermione," he said quietly, "You've been tainted by me now and while Eileen or Cygnus or even Leopold may accept you, do you really think that Dumbledore's stooges will? You heard what Eileen said. Even she thinks that you want to come back to me."

"Get out," she whispered.

"And even if you don't see it now, I do, Hermione," he went on, regardless, "I know what you have inside of you, I nurtured it, fed it until it grew into what it is now. You can't lie to me anymore than you can lie to yourself."

"Get. Out." She whispered again.

He didn't move backwards. He didn't even glance at the fireplace. He continued to stare into her blazing eyes with nothing but calmness. He tried to lean his head forward to steal a kiss and the consequences were explosive. He was thrown from her side of the room to the other, landing on a bookcase and smashing it to smithereens. He stared at her in shock for the second time that night before finally getting the message and disappearing through her fireplace with yet another smirk on his face.

It was decided then and there that if Hermione was ever elected as Minister for Magic that she would make an immediate decree stating that all those who smirked would instantly suffer the dementor's kiss.


	9. Desperation

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Here's the next bit guys, hope you enjoy it!  
**

**As always, R&R!  
**

**Thanks heaps!  
**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Desperation

She stood there for several minutes after he had gone, breathing heavily and trying to calm down but failing miserably. She cursed everything in sight, kicked every object that was close to her and still her anger kept rising. There was nothing she could do to stop it when Severus walked in the door.

He raised a blond eyebrow at the state of the room.

"Has your horrid mood abated or would you like me to spell a bull's eye on my backside?" He asked her.

She couldn't even look at him. At that moment in time her guilt and her anger couldn't bare the sight of him. She stormed past him and out the door, ignoring his calls for her as she walked down the hall. She needed to do something to get rid of all this pent up anger and frustration, something that would fuel her need for violence without actually hurting anyone, or at least allow her to do damage that could be repaired. She had never felt so out of control in her life, not even back in 1944 when things had been so hectic and secretive and clandestine. It seemed now that everything was out in the open, now that Tom and Eileen knew who she was and what she was meant to do, that everything had become so much more complicated.

And it was killing her. There were so many people that she had to protect now, so many lives on her hands that her mind was spinning with all the information and her heart was breaking with the weight of all the souls she would have to lose.

She couldn't protect Eileen forever. Tom would find a way around her just to prove a point.

Her blond Severus was suffering so much already and she knew that he would be next on Tom's hit list, if not for being her protector, guardian and reminder, then for being such a powerful wizard.

Then there was the younger Severus who suffered for the same reasons. If Tom could not collect him then he would be killed. Plain and simple. No ifs, buts or maybes.

Then there were the lives of all the other students inside the castle that were now subject to her own stupidity. She had allowed this monster into their midst, she had let him set up camp and now he wasn't going to leave. If he ever changed his mind and decided to show her the meaning of the word "massacre" then there would be nothing she could do about it.

So many decisions to make and not one of them were right.

As she walked she began to feel herself panic, more tears flooding her eyes. She could feel her heart constrict, her chest tighten, her mind ready to explode. She needed air. Cool, pure, night air. She stumbled down the stairs, gripping the railing with all her might until she reached the bottom and found herself in the Entrance Hall. She was almost there, so close she could taste the cool tranquility of the black lake, smell the embers from Hagrid's chimney, see the-

"Evans!"

Face of James Potter coming towards her. She swore under her breath, wiped away the remains of her tears and attempted to get her breathing under control and tried with all her might to muster an expression of dignity.

"What do you want Potter?" She asked, her voice slightly wobbly as she spoke.

"You're not supposed to be out of bed," he said firmly.

"I'm not a student," she countered.

"But you are a resident of this castle," he smirked back, "Which means you have to obey the rules set down by the Headmaster and that means getting back up to bed. Now."

That was it. She had had enough of being ordered around for one night. She stood up straight, folded her arms and glared at him.

"No."

He looked confused.

"What?" He asked.

"You heard me," she shot back.

"Go to bed, Evans," he ordered again. That just made her laugh.

"And what if I don't want to?" She chuckled, "You going to take away house points? Give me detention? You don't control me Potter."

"I'll alert the Headmaster," he said confidently. She just snorted at him and stepped closer, poking him in the chest with every word she spoke.

"I am so sick of arrogant," _poke_, "Pompous," _poke_, "Ignorant," _poke_, "Pricks who think they can order me around!"

"And I don't like annoying," James seemed to have the same idea as he poked her in the shoulder with every word, "Sarcastic, know-it-all, little girls who think they're better than I am!"

"I have never once thought that I was better than you!" She shrieked, "You just happen to be picking on the only friend I have here!"

"Well your friend shouldn't be lusting after my woman!"

"Well your woman shouldn't hav-"

"Evans!"

She could have died from the irony, the timing, everything as the young Severus Snape came walking down the stairs to meet them by the great oak doors. He had a look that was of concern and borderline anger as he gazed upon her face and saw who she was with.

"Get back to your dorm Snivellus," Potter growled, his wand suddenly drawn.

"I have a note from Slughorn, Potter," Snape snarled, thrusting the letter into the boy's hands as he drew a protective arm around Hermione who more than welcomed it.

James looked over it for several seconds before screwing it up and throwing it back at the pair.

"It wouldn't take you much to forge this, Snape," he sneered, "Slughorn is as dumb as a Blast-Ended Skrewet on magic mushrooms-"

"And Professor Slughorn would also do anything for his students," Hermione snapped back, "Therefore it's more logical that the note is legit."

"There is no way that Slughorn gave him permission to go and pick Wild Chilies in the Forbidden Forest!" Potter exclaimed incredulously.

She threw Snape a surreptitious look of amusement and disbelief before turning back to Potter.

"Wild Chilies are used in various sleeping potions," she lied easily, "Most have to be picked by moonlight and the third years just happen to be attempting a simple sleeping draught tomorrow morning."

"You've got to be kidding me," Potter laughed, "How stupid do you think I am? I've never heard of sleeping potions using Wild Chilies before-"

"Potter you are speaking with two potions apprentices," Snape drawled, rolling his eyes, "I think it would be safe to assume that our knowledge base is far superior to your own…not that you actually have any knowledge inside that overly large head of yours."

Hermione had to stifle a laugh behind a sneeze at that. James looked absolutely murderous. She saw him lurch forward, suddenly raising his wand and when she saw Snape raise his own she instantly threw herself between them.

"Now you listen to me Snivellus-"

"What is going on here?"

_Oh great. Just brilliant. As if this night could get any worse_, Hermione thought as Lily Evans strode towards them, a professional and stern look in her eyes, her wand by her side. Her eyes rested for a few moments on Severus' arm, which happened to be attached to Hermione's shoulder but said nothing about it as she drew level and Potter tried to do the same with her but she shook him off. Obviously she was quite intent upon being professional while on duty, which meant that, out here in the dark, Potter wasn't her boyfriend, he was her colleague.

"I found Miss Evans lurking about out here, on her way outside and then Snape showed up," he told her.

"I have a note," Snape snapped again, his arm suddenly tightening at the sight of the red head.

"Let's see it then," Lily said, holding out her hand for it. Snape handed it over diligently and Hermione watched her eyes scan over the small piece of parchment, her brow furrowing as she reached the end. She looked up at the two of them in scrutiny for several seconds before handing the note back.

"Go," she said to them simply. James looked absolutely flabbergasted.

"What?" He yelled.

"The note is legit," she told him, "You can't do anything to stop him and Miss Evans isn't a student here. She has every right to be out at night when she pleases."

"I've already told them-"

"I'm overruling you," Lily told him before turning back to the other two, "Just be careful out there and make sure your whereabouts are known by at least three others before you leave the castle grounds and go into the forest."

With that, she grabbed James by the sleeve of his jumper and began walking as he began shouting at her in earnest. Hermione and Severus stood there staring at them for several moments before they slowly backed out of the Entrance Hall and into the night. They didn't head for the Forbidden Forest, instead choosing to sit by the lake and watch as the Giant Squid caught birds and brought them down into the water for a midnight snack.

It took several moments of silence before Hermione suddenly burst into giggles. Severus furrowed his brow at her in confusion. At the look on his face she progressed to full-blown laughter.

"What on earth could be so funny, Evans?" He asked her.

"Wild Chilies?" She laughed, "Was that seriously the best you could think of?"

He cracked a smirk at her there.

"I was in a hurry," he told her, "Besides, who in their right mind would use Wild Chilies in a sleeping draught?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind," she laughed again, lying back on the grass next to him and gazing up at the stars. It had to have been well past midnight now, considering her visit from the Dark Lord had been rather lengthy and it had taken them a while to get past Head Gryffindork One and Two, as Hermione had now started referring to them. Yet as they gazed silently at the stars neither of them seemed to think about their early start in the morning or the fact that they could be caught at any moment.

"So why were you so desperate to get out of the castle?" Snape suddenly asked her in the silence. She stiffened slightly but other than that gave nothing away.

"I don't know what you mean," she muttered. He frowned and turned on his side, looking over her for several moments before deciding that now was not the time to be kind and leave her be.

"You have tear tracks on your face," he told her simply, "And as much as I would like a reason to deck Potter, I very much doubt he has the strength needed to make you cry."

She looked away from him with a sigh but he turned her face back to him gently. It seemed he wasn't going to let her go without giving him an answer. For all his snark, his sarcasm and waspish wit, Hermione had to admit that Severus Snape was a very caring man, not normally this open about it perhaps, but passionate and he had his own kind of gentility that you didn't see in most.

The only question she had left to answer concerning this man was how much pain he could really handle?

"Something-something happened," she said quietly, "And it just felt like the whole world was…I don't know, shrinking I guess. Everything just seemed to collapse around me. I needed to get out of the castle."

When she looked back at him she wasn't expecting to see understanding and concern in his eyes but it was definitely there.

"You aren't going to tell me what that _something_ was, are you?" He asked quietly.

"You really don't want to know," she muttered back, "Suffice it to say that the world seems to be getting very small and I don't seem to fit in it anymore."

She turned her face back to the stars and subconsciously started searching for constellations until her own questions bubbled to the surface.

"Why did you come out?" She asked quietly, turning back to him to see that he too was counting the little diamonds.

"Wild Chilies?" He offered, making her laugh. He couldn't help but smirk too.

"Really. Why did you leave the castle?" She asked.

"It wouldn't appease your curiosity if I were to tell you that I was looking for you, would it?" He asked and at the expression on her face he sighed, "I went to see my mother."

Ah. Now that explained things.

"Did she tell you to come looking for me?" She asked, an unwanted bitter note lining her tongue.

"No," he shook his head, "She wasn't there. So I waited for her. When she finally arrived she was…shaken."

Hermione attempted not to give anything away, tried to act as though Eileen's sudden skittishness wasn't because of her relationship with a certain Dark Lord. It seemed to work too as Severus was far to engrossed in the stars and his story to even look at her, to see that the culprit for his discomfort was right before his eyes.

"We fought," he told her, "And in order to avoid saying something…drastic, I left, forged the note and subsequently found you."

"Why did you fight?" She couldn't help but ask. She knew she was playing with fire, dancing around the flame that would fan her own ashes but she couldn't help it. She was too intensely curious for her own good.

"She-" he was struggling to be honest, she knew it, "She…isn't safe here."

Hermione froze. It was an automatic reaction to the statement that she had used so many times in her head but had been so afraid to speak aloud.

"She's like you, on the run from the Dark Lord," he told her, his brow creased with concentration and anger, "She said that she angered him before I was born, before she met my father and he hasn't let it go since. She says that if I don't keep my head down then he'll come after me just to spite her. That's why bloody Potter and his goons haven't been given a beating."

"You were trying to save her the hurt," Hermione nodded, careful not to look at him.

"If it would save her then I would go to him," he went on, unable to stop himself now, "She says it won't, but there are things that I could do for him, things that would help him in-"

"Is that really what you want?" She asked him sharply, "To help him?"

He looked at her then and saw that her eyes had gone hard.

"I love my mother, Miss Evans," he told her and once more she was shocked by the honesty in his voice, "I would do anything for her."

It was pointless to ask about his father. When she and Severus had first been reacquainting themselves with one another back home he had grudgingly told her of his childhood. It was marred and scarred by the presence of a tyrant who was nothing short of abusive and cruel. She doubted very much whether her influence had changed that.

"Just because you are willing, doesn't mean that you should," she told him quietly, "And she's right. It wouldn't change a thing."

He looked at her skeptically.

"How do you know?" He asked.

She thought quickly, trying to cover her tracks with a satisfactory lie.

"Well," she said, "I guess it's just the experience of being chased by the Dark Lord. It gives you a kind of insight into what he is like and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that he doesn't give up until he gets what he wants."

He didn't buy it but he seemed willing to let the issue drop for the time being. Hermione shifted onto her stomach and looked up at him as he scrutinized her.

"How long have you been running from him?" He asked her.

"A while now," she whispered, "As I said, he just doesn't like to give up."

"And why is it he doesn't wish to give up on _you_?"

She thought about it for a few minutes as the sudden urge to tell him the truth bubbled to the surface of her mind. Her conscience seemed to be torn in two on the issue. On the one hand she didn't want to lie to him and sully their growing friendship with deceit and yet on the other she wished to protect him from the evil that persued her. She knew it would find him in the end but she didn't wish to bring him to more harm than he already had to endure.

She decided to meet him halfway.

"He looks to me for many of the same reasons he looks to you," she told him, "I have talents that he feels will be useful, abilities that he thinks will further is cause."

He furrowed his brow.

"But you are muggle born," he said. She looked at him in surprise.

"How did you-"

"I've been around muggle-borns since I was seven years old," he told her with a faint smirks, "Their mannerisms, actions and even fashion sense are very different to that of half-bloods and purebloods. It was painfully obvious when you walked into the potions class on the first morning and wore jeans under your robes."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, I am muggle-born," she told him.

"Well, being muggle-born, would that not make him wish to kill you instead of acquire you?"

She thought about it. It was definitely a point, even if her history with Tom was a little more complicated than what Severus thought it was. And she knew that he knew she was muggle-born too. She remembered all too clearly a conversation they had had by the lake on one of her first mornings as a student in 1944…

_"Why are you lying through your teeth to conceal the truth from me?" he asked quietly and calmly, yet still so cold, "You aren't from Italy, you never met Grindlewald. You were never engaged, you're definitely not a pureblood and I'm damn sure your name isn't Evans. So I will ask you again. Why are you lying?"_

He knew. He knew and yet he still wanted her, not as a slave but as a partner…as a lover. He would taint himself with her essence. The only question was why.

"I don't know," she told him quietly, "I don't know why his view of me is so different to that of others but whatever the reason is, it doesn't matter. I apparently mean just as much to him as you do."

He let her words wash over him as he gazed at the night sky and then down at her eyes.

"Then perhaps it would be…smarter, for us to stick together," he said. She smiled at him.

"More than what we already do?" She asked, "Severus, you have nothing to worry about. You are the only friend I have here."

He seemed to have no reaction at her use of his given name though she could tell that it meant something to him. She had a feeling that no one but Lily had ever used it before which was really a real shame.

"I know…Hermione," he said, "But perhaps if we make a united front concerning this issue, maybe our safety will be easier to maintain."

Well, she thought, maybe his would be easier. If Tom knew that she was associating with Eileen's son as well, then maybe he would be a little more lenient, after all he needed him too. Then again, if he had Hermione, he probably thought that he would have no need for Severus. But she could convince him that Severus-

She stopped herself. Why was she thinking like this? Planning what she would do if she were to join him? Let him take her back into the pit of darkness that she had just crawled out of. It disturbed her so much that she frowned into the grass and sat up once more.

"Hermione?" Severus said, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied.

"Forgive me if my suggestion was out of place," he said quickly, "I only meant that if we made any decisions concerning the Dark Lord that they should be made together to aid our own wellbeing-"

"No, no," she shook her head, "There is nothing wrong with the idea. In fact, I think it is a very good idea for us to stick together. It would probably make your mother feel better too."

It probably would. Knowing that Hermione was there to guide her son like a moral compass would definitely be a comfort…if she managed to get past the impending danger that she brought with her.

"Then why have you tensed?" Severus asked, now sitting up too.

"I-" she stopped herself and rethought what she was going to say, "I've just remembered that I have a few things to take care of before morning. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

He looked at her with a furrowed brow as she stood from the grass and dusted herself off.

"If I pushed for too much-"

"No," She shook her head again, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened at the contact but eventually returned the hug with equal affection.

"Thank you, Severus," she said as she let go, "I really needed this."

~O~

Upon many stories of wood, glass and stone an old man watched two of his residents sit by the Black Lake with a twinkle in his eye. One of them was a tool that could be used to help end the war that threatened to destroy everything that they held dear…the other was the key. It pained him to think of them in such a way, after all, they were people who needed protection just like everyone else. But they were special and as well as being protected they needed to be poked and prodded into acting, achieving their goals.

And his.

There was a sudden knock on his door and he moved away from his window.

"Enter," he spoke softly. In came James Potter with a rather riled expression on his face but at the sight of the old Headmaster he attempted to keep his temper under control. Such a good young man, always thinking of others before himself.

"James, how are you this evening?" Dumbledore asked him.

"I'm alright, Professor," he answered, "How are you?"

"I'm just peachy," Dumbledore smiled, "Please, take a seat."

James did as he was told and slumped himself into one of the chairs that faced the Headmaster's desk. The eyes of the former Headmasters rested upon his head, scanning every inch of his skin as he sat before Dumbledore in the dark room.

"What can I do for you tonight, James?" Dumbledore asked him.

"We've been following them, like you said, Professor," James told him, "They seem to be spending all their time together, except for when they go to bed and then she's always with Professor Evans."

"I see," Dumbledore gazed at him over his half-moon spectacles, "And is anything…romantic, coming between them, do you think?"

James snorted.

"Maybe on Sniv-Snape's side but not hers," he told him. The Headmaster raised his eyebrows at the young man before him.

"And what makes you think this, James?" He asked.

"Snape likes her, you can tell," he said simply, "He doesn't talk to anyone except her, doesn't hang around anyone else except her. He's even stopped going to those little Death Eater Wannabe meetings in the dungeons. But she doesn't seem to notice it at all."

"And how can you tell that the affection is one sided?"

"Just instinct, sir," James shrugged, "Normally when girls walk into a room they swoon over guys like Sirius and me and even Remus on occasion but she doesn't even look at us."

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled.

"Could this be perhaps that you are, er, what is the phrase? Not her type?"

James looked mortified.

"That's ridiculous, sir!" he said incredulously, "I'm everybody's type!"

The Headmaster permitted himself a small chuckle.

"No, it's more than that, sir," James went on, "She doesn't seem to be looking at anyone else, not just Snape. I mean, lord knows Sirius has a thing for her. He won't stop talking about how much of a cow she is and yet how smart she is and how much he wants to strangle her and then how much wants to-"

He cut himself off as his cheeks went pink.

"The point is that even if she and Sirius were on speaking terms, I don't think she would look at him twice," he went on, "And that's just plain weird."

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled again as the boy huffed.

"I just don't get why they're so important sir," James told him, "I mean, sure, I can understand that she's really strong and smart, but what about Sniv- I mean Snape? He's got no magical talent whatsoever."

"That you can see, James, that you can see," Dumbledore smiled, "If you look closely from now on, I think you will find that he has talent that is worthy of your respect."


	10. You Don't Want To Know

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Sorry it took so long but I really wanted to get this chapter right. It goes into some of the heavy stuff here and Tom is back to screw everything up so that just made it more complicated and...yeah, it's two in the morning now so I'm rambling haha.  
**

**As always, R&R!  
**

**Thanks heaps!  
**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Nine: You don't want to know

Hermione was rather grateful to go the rest of the month without another visit from Tom. It seemed that her subtle hint of throwing him into a wall did the trick and he was keeping his distance…for now.

As time went by her relationship with the younger Severus grew and her relationship with his mother rekindled. In class they had time to find themselves, or find themselves again and it did them all a world of good. After a month of being in this time, Hermione was now only starting to feel at home.

It seemed that even "Leopold" was beginning to adjust as well. He had spoken with Eileen on numerous occasions, taking strolls around the lake together as Severus got to know the mother he never had. He had secretly confided in her not long ago that Eileen had been broken and defeated when he was a child, a mother who was only good for picking up the pieces, not protection. Now it seemed that protection was the only thing that was on the brain for the woman and she was so much stronger than what he could ever have imagined. Hermione though that Severus was secretly grateful for this opportunity but she was worried that he was headed for a huge crash when they left.

If all went as planned then things would go back to the way they were. Voldemort would have won, Harry would still be dead and most of the Order would have been captured. They would still be alone in the world searching for a solution and no closer to getting one. For the life of her, Hermione couldn't understand why Severus wished to return to that dark hour. If he would let her, she would change things for the better but he seemed hell bent on leaving things the way they were. Deep down she knew that he was afraid of the power they now held in their hands. They could do anything with the knowledge they held and he didn't want to accidentally make it all worse.

Currently, Hermione and young Severus were taking a stroll around the lake, speaking candidly about their last lesson with his mother.

"I actually find her to be rather intuitive when it comes to my potion," Severus told her, "I had thought at first that it would be…uncomfortable to have my mother teach me but she's actually very good."

"I know what you mean," Hermione told him, wrapping her arm around his as she normally did, "She's given me so many ideas and leads to my own potion that I don't think this it's going to be all that hard anymore."

He easily slipped his hand over hers as he had in the past weeks when she had felt the need to cling to him. It had been vastly awkward at first until Hermione had told him to relax and go with it and he had done as he was told. He had become accustomed to doing as he was told when it concerned her these days. It was the first time in his life that he actually didn't mind following orders, simply because he knew that they were for his own good.

He looked around briefly to note that every single student that had come out to enjoy the fine November air was staring at them in one way or another.

"They're gawking at us," he told her quietly as his eyes once more rested on the Black Lake.

"Does it bother you?" She asked him.

"No," he said, "I simply wonder what is so fascinating that they feel the need to stare."

She gave a light tinkle of laughter and rested her head on his shoulder.

"They probably think that we're together," she told him, "And keeping it quiet."

"Oh how their worlds would shatter if they found out that they were wrong."

She couldn't help but laugh again. Despite what Lily had told her not that long ago and the covert glances she received from the red-head her relationship with Severus had been completely uncomplicated by feelings of lust or romance. Often they would sit in the library and joke about what everyone was saying about them and it filled her heart with joy. To see the glee in his eyes as she reenacted the rumors she heard from the house elves or told him of the things written about them on the bathroom walls was one of the highlights of her days. He didn't seem bothered by the platonic nature of their friendship and for that she was grateful. The last thing she needed was a sexually repressed potions apprentice lusting after her as well as the egotistical maniac.

"Have you heard about the Christmas party that Slughorn is planning on throwing?" He asked her, "It promises to be quite entertaining. Especially if Potter and Black are going."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"How so?" She asked.

"They can't hold their liquor."

"But surely Slughorn wouldn't-" Then it hit her and in turn she hit him on the shoulder laughing, "Severus Snape, don't you dare!"

He smirked at her, allowing a small chuckle to escape past his lips.

"Why not? They'll no doubt have something planned for me," he said.

"In the middle of a crowd?" She asked, her eyebrows raised, "Do you really think they're that stupid."

He looked at her.

"Ok, maybe they are," she conceded, "But I very much doubt that they would ruin Slughorn's party simply for their own sick pleasure. As much as I don't like them, I don't think they're that cruel."

"You would be surprised," he told her with a slight growl. She gave his arm a comforting squeeze and he relaxed once more as they walked another lap around the lake.

"Who are you planning to go with?" He suddenly asked her. She thought about it for a few moments, remembering how it had gone for her the last time she had attended one of Slughorn's parties. She could still see Callus's face every time she closed her eyes at night and she didn't want a repeat of that night.

"I've had a few offers," she told him honestly, "Nott has expressed his interest, as have Pucey and Warrington."

"All Slytherins?" He asked her.

"No," she said, "Surprisingly I've also had an offer from a girl in Ravenclaw."

He looked at her strangely.

"A girl?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "She was actually very sweet about it, sending me a blue rose and asking if she could take me to the party."

"What did you say?" He asked her.

"I told her that I was very flattered but my heart already belongs to another," she smiled and he laughed with her this time. They continued to stroll for a little while before Hermione decided that her feet were too sore to go on and they sat on the dock, away from prying eyes.

"I was actually hoping that you would be free, Severus," she said to him as they watched the calm waters.

"Why Hermione, are you asking me out on a date?" He said, placing his hand over his heart and she giggled again.

"Perhaps a date of convenience?" She said, "Though it would certainly cement the rumors that we're a couple."

"I wouldn't mind so much," he told her with a shrug, "I honestly do not mind the fact that they think you're my girlfriend."

"Takes away from the fact that everyone thinks you're after Lily, doesn't it?" Hermione said. He looked at her sharply for a few seconds but sighed.

"Am I that obvious?" He asked.

"Only to a trained eye," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder once more, "To the rest it's only unfounded speculation."

"And Potter?"

"I have a feeling he knows," she nodded, "But he won't say anything, just in case Lily feels the same way."

He scowled.

"She doesn't," he told her.

"You and I both know that," she said quietly, "Potter however…well, let's just say that he's a little more insecure than he makes himself out to be."

"Are you suggesting that Potter thinks of me as a threat?" he asked her, tilting her head up to look at him. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly Severus," she said, "Why do you think he still insists on picking on you? From the looks of things, he's not the most immature person to grace these halls and yet all he does is plot your downfall."

Well, it made sense to her anyway and it was the only reason she could think of that would give Potter any reason to continue his escapades. Black and Pettigrew were another matter altogether that she hadn't quite figured out yet but that wasn't what was important at the moment.

"But enough of them," She suddenly said, "Would you like to come with me to the Christmas party?"

He gave her another smirk.

"Why not?" He said, "It's not as if I'll have anything else to do."

"You make me feel so loved when you say things like that, you know that?" She laughed.

~O~  
She walked into her rooms that night with a pleasant feeling of relief that afternoon. The day had gone well with her potion almost ready for the first trial brewing and the atmosphere of the castle generally being cheery with the Holidays only a month away. She removed her bag and walked over to the couch, plopping down in a rather unladylike manner and lounging on it, closing her eyes and taking in the pleasant silence of the room.

Then she heard footsteps and frowned, her eyes still closed.

"Severus, where are you going?"

The older Severus smirked at her intuition and walked up behind her.

"Albus asked to see me," he told her, "I won't be long. I told him I had papers to grade."

"Try not to let him force too many lemon drops down your throat," she smirked as she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"I survived more than twenty years in the old man's company before we came here," he told her, "I've learned quite adequately how to avoid the lemon drops."

She couldn't help but laugh as he walked out the door. He was another one who seemed more relaxed these days. She guessed that his talks with Eileen had mellowed him out, allowed him to have some kind of closure that he had always wanted in regards to his mother and was never able to have. It had been unattainable until now.

She heard footsteps coming towards her again and she smirked.

"Please don't tell me you've gone so soft that you forgot your wand," she smiled.

"I think you'll find that I take my wand with me everywhere I go."

Her eyes widened at the sound of his voice and she froze when he felt his presence behind her. She felt chills go up her spine when she felt his fingers begin to knead the flesh on her shoulders.

"You seem tense," he said, "Have you had a rough day?"

Then she remembered who she was dealing with. She rolled her eyes at him.

"It was absolutely fine until you showed up, Malfoy."

She got up from the couch and turned to stare at him. She almost fell down again at the sight that greeted her. It was almost like looking into the future and seeing Lucius before he was placed under the imperius curse, immaculate robes, dignified expression and a head of hair that most middle aged men would die for.

"Still a spit fire, Evans," he smirked at her.

"Still a prat, Malfoy," she said back, "How did you get in the castle?"

"The same way everyone does, Evans, through the front door," he told her. When she raised her eyebrows at him he elaborated, "I had a meeting with the Headmaster this morning concerning the Board of Governors and thought I would drop in to see you."

She snorted at him.

"You mean your master ordered you to drop in and see me considering he's too frightened to do his own dirty work," she retorted, "Save your deception for someone who will believe it Abraxus, I know you both too well."

All he did was continue to smirk at her.

"I have to say that I have missed you, Evans," he said, carelessly taking a seat on her couch and relaxing just as Tom would have done, "You were always such great entertainment value."

"Sorry," she said coldly, "I can't say the same for you."

He simply continued to smirk at her.

"Why is it you're here?" She asked, "I hate to be a bother but the sooner you're out of my rooms the sooner I can get back to forgetting that you even exist."

He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Eileen is here, isn't she?" He asked.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione shot back.

"There's only one woman on the planet with a tongue that…cutting and influential," he stated, "It's rather obvious that she's here. Perhaps I'll stop and-"

"Go anywhere near her and I will cut your balls off and nail them to a tree for the Giant Squid to eat," she said quietly, calmly, coldly. So cold that Abraxus almost shivered.

"I would like to see you try, Evans," he said, standing from the couch and meeting her nose to nose, "You aren't the only one he's been teaching."

So Tom had started teaching others his tricks? It was a little surprising that he had started so soon, seeing as Bellatrix wasn't even supposed to be a part of his ranks yet but then again that could have changed too. She was really starting to hate all the complications that came with time travelling. It was just too difficult to keep up with.

She smirked at him.

"You're a complete idiot if you think he's taught you everything he taught me," she told him, her voice little above a whisper, "Now I'll ask you only once more. Why are you here?"

He gave her a typical Malfoy sniff and backed off to sit on the couch once more.

"Is it simply not enough that I wish to catch up with an old friend?" He asked.

"Apparently the curses I threw at you thirty years ago were too subtle of a hint," she said to him, sitting on a chair regardless, "That was my way of telling you that we were no longer friends."

"Well in that case, you won't be needing this then?" He said, pulling a small green vile from his pocket. He placed it delicately on the small table that separated them and Hermione's eyes became glued to it, unable to look away.

"What is it?" She asked, automatically fearing the answer.

"Our master-"

"Your master, Abraxus, not mine," she corrected him swiftly. He smirked.

"Whatever lets you sleep at night, Evans," he said, "My master is assuming that you plan to attend Slughorn's Christmas party this year, would he be correct?"

"Not that it's any of either of your business', but yes," she responded.

"In that case you will need something to cover up your…history."

She looked up at him to see him staring at her left forearm that had been covered by a bandage since she had arrived.

"You already get stares everywhere you go, Evans," he told her, "Imagine the kinds of looks you would get if anybody knew about that."

"I don't exactly see you wearing it proudly," she said, nodding to his own forearm, "Not anymore anyway."

"For the safety of my family I remain in the shadows," he told her coldly, "It is also to my master's benefit that my true self remains hidden."

There was a bite to his tone that she had never heard before, a subtle suggestion, a tiny hint of something…more. She looked at him then, really looked at him and began to see hints of someone else in his eyes, someone she knew very well. He was tired and scared just like everyone else was now and now that he no longer had Eileen…

"Tell me," she said quietly, "Who is it you're really hiding from?"

He blanched at her words, stiffened ever so slightly and doing his best to conceal himself from her as any good Slytherin would but failing miserably. She had been around them all for far too long now to miss anything that they would unintentionally give away.

"I've known men like you all my life, Malfoy," she whispered, "Men who are consumed by an idea, something that appeals to their egos so much that they live it and breathe it for so long that they don't know anything else. Then when they find out the idea isn't what they thought it was, that it was an illusion created by another with a gift for concealment and manipulation, they get scared."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he glared.

"Let me elaborate then," she said coolly, "You've lived by these pureblooded ideals all your life simply because it stroked your ego to think that you were superior to half the planet. Tom filled your head with justification, telling you that muggles and mudbloods were the ones responsible for the decline of wizarding ethic and manners. You went along with it, feeling even more empowered by the fact that you thought you were doing what was right. When your wife and son came along you became aware that your ideals and the occupation that came along with it could be dangerous not only to yourself but to them and while I doubt very much that you love your wife I know that you love your son. You're scared that you're leading him down the exact same path of death and destruction and you want something better for him."

His breathing quickened with every word that she spoke. It was as if he were baring his soul to her simply by sitting on her sofa, as though she had a direct link to his mind, his thoughts, his emotions. Every single memory he had of joining his master, the birth of his son, watching him grow, it was all there on the table for her to read.

"If you haven't tried to get out already I won't be surprised if you try soon," she told him, "You're coming undone and no one else can see it. No one can stop it."

She thought for a few moments that he was readying himself to attack her, to draw his wand and curse her into oblivion for her observational skills. The expression his face was one of rage and confusion and shock that someone else knew what he had been thinking for the past thirty years. He had known from the moment that he lost Eileen that he had made a mistake but it wasn't until his son began speaking to the Dark Lord, attending meetings, preparing to take the mark, that he knew how big of a mistake it had been. Tom had always been dangerous, but like it was for so many others, he had never realized how dangerous until he threatened his family.

But he shocked her when he composed himself to a certain degree and looked up at her with a shaky expression. The fear was open on his face, no longer concealed by a mask of false hatred of undiluted anger. She didn't stare back at him with mirth or with ice as he expected her to. She looked on him with pity.

"If it helps," she finally said, "I won't tell him that you aren't loyal."

It was too much. To be told twice in three months that he wasn't who he thought he was, who he was taught to be, was excruciating. All the air seemed to escape from his lungs as genuine tears of remorse filled his eyes. He did his best to hide them behind his hands where he buried his face but it didn't stop the pathetic sobs of an old man racking his body. This was more of what she had seen in her time. A broken Malfoy, suddenly repentant for all that he had done and she knew that Abraxus would not be the last.

She didn't reach over and try to hug him. She knew he wouldn't appreciate it. He was still a Malfoy after all and still had his pride, even though it was in pieces at his feet. She simply extracted a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him. He took it gratefully and cleaned himself up. It took him a few minutes but he managed to compose himself once more and that was when she felt comfortable enough to move from her chair and sit next to him on the couch.

"I did try," he told her, his head still in his hands, "I did. When Lucius was only young. I could see the path I was leading him on, the danger I was putting him in and I wanted it to stop. I told him I wanted out, I told him that I couldn't do it anymore and he- he threatened Lucius and Miala. I may not love Miala as a husband should love his wife but I don't want anything to happen to her…"

"God, what is it with you Malfoys," Hermione huffed, "You always seem to gravitate towards evil so easily and when you find out that it's too big for you, you run from it."

He looked up at her.

"How far from the future are you?" He asked with a slight sniff. She debated internally how much to tell him but she decided that it couldn't hurt to let him know a few things.

"I come from 1998," she told him.

"That's only twenty years from now," he stated astonishingly.

"What were you expecting?" she laughed, "The year 3000?"

"I just didn't expect it to be so…close," he told her with a small chuckle himself.

There was a small pause and Abraxus lifted his head to face her again.

"I take it from your comment about Malfoys and their choice of certain weaknesses that you know my son," he stated.

"Yes," she nodded, "I also know his son."

His eyes lit up at the prospect that he would be a grandfather.

"How much can you tell me?" He asked.

"How much do you want to know?" She asked back.

"As much as you can give," he told her desperately, "Any small comfort you can spare."

She thought about it for a long time and decided that there were certainly things that she could tell him, things that would be a small comfort to his tired and distraught mind. They were also things that Tom, even if he were to find out about this conversation, would never understand enough to use against her.

"I didn't really know Lucius well before I left," she told him, "But from what I remember he looks very much like you do now, very handsome man, even if he is old."

Abraxus let out a chuckle.

"You trying to tell me something Evans?" He asked her jovially.

"Not on your life, Malfoy," she smirked, "Truth be told I know your grandson a lot better."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Draco," she said without hesitation, "Draco Abraxus Malfoy."

She saw him swell with pride at the name that his son had chosen, the light in his eyes suddenly bloom.

"Draco was my father's name," Abraxus smiled, "I think it's why I took so well to your fiancé."

Hermione suddenly looked away from him and began chewing on her bottom lip, something that he didn't miss. He frowned at her uncertainly for a moment, trying to figure out his actions and then it hit him.

"They're the same person, aren't they?" He whispered, "Draco Malone is-"

"Draco Malfoy," she finished for him, pain clenching her heart as she thought of him. Abraxus however, looked perplexed.

"My grandson is a brunette?" he asked confusedly, "Who the hell does Lucius marry?"

She couldn't help it. She laughed. She laughed so hard that her head collapsed against his shoulder as her body shook with undisturbed glee.

"No," she told him, "That was just Leopold's handy work."

"You were engaged to my grandson?" He asked, still looking confused. She laughed again.

"Merlin, no," she smiled, "Draco and I could barely stand to be in the same room as each other some days."

"Pity," Abraxus smiled, "The Malfoy line could use a witch like you."

"Have you gotten soft in your old age?"

"I just appreciate beauty when I see it," he told her, "Tell me more."

She did. She told him every bit of inconspicuous information she could think of starting from first year and moving onwards and it seemed as though she wasn't just reminiscing for Abraxus after a while. Remembering Draco, remembering what life had been like before she had started this crazy journey was more than theraputic, it was mind-altering. She could feel her sorrow for Draco and her guilt at her part in his death begin to slip away with every word she spoke.

Eventually they found themselves leaning back on the couch, his arm around her shoulder and her head resting on his as she droned on and on.

"I mean it wasn't even that big of a hit!" She told him, "I was thirteen, taking twelve classes a day and getting only three hours sleep a night. I don't know why he made such a big fuss over it! I loved the way he looked at me in fifth year though. My friends and I had started a secret club that Draco and his friends were trying to get us busted for and when they couldn't find any evidence they resorted to trying to get us to talk. He tried cornering me one afternoon and I gave him the biggest-"

"If that sentence ends in a sexual reference I might have to extinguish the Malfoy line right here and now."

The two of them jumped off the couch immediately, Hermione drawing her wand and Abraxus bowing in submission. Her eyes briefly flickered to the fireplace that had emerald green flames licking silently at the hearth and she raised her eyebrows. So that was how he had been doing it. She wasn't quite sure how it worked, how he managed to bypass the wards without alerting the Headmaster or anyone else for that matter but she knew it had to be the floo.

"I was going to say black eye but if you would prefer something else I'm pretty sure I can twist the story so that I ended up fucking him in the hallway," she said calmly as Tom glared at her and then at his servant.

"Bad language isn't at all attractive on you, Hermione," he said with his eyes lingering on Abraxus.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck a duck and screw a kangaroo then," she glared. At this moment in time she didn't want to be attractive to him at all. Something rebellious had risen inside her after all that talking about Draco and her past. It was almost as if his spirit had tapped itself to her soul and was guiding her every action.

"Master we were just-"

"Get out of my sight," Tom hissed at him. Abraxus bowed deeper and backed slowly out of the room. Tom then turned his eyes on the witch who still felt the need to draw her wand in his presence and rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, woman, is that really necessary? You know you can't beat me."

"As I said when you invited yourself in the first time, I can certainly die trying."

"Mind telling me what is so special about Abraxus' shoulder that you would prefer his over mine?"

"His isn't covered in all consuming evil. Any other redundant questions you would like to ask?"

Hm. Clearly she wasn't in the mood for banter then. Either that or she hadn't forgiven him for his little display last month.

"What do you want now?" She asked when he remained silent.

"I was just checking that you received my gift," he told her, "Abraxus was supposed to come straight back once he had delivered it," he glared in the direction of the door, "Not…get distracted."

"If this is some pathetic attempt to apologize for what you said last month-"

"Dear, you should know by now that I never apologize," he rolled his eyes, taking Abraxus' place on her sofa, "I simply thought it would be best if your friends didn't see the mark that you took-"

"That you forced on me," she corrected him coldly.

"Took, forced, what's the difference these days?" He yawned lazily.

"A very big one," she told him, "Can you leave now?"

He frowned.

"You really have been spending too much time with Eileen."

She lost her patience. Her stinging hex would have landed straight between his legs had his reflexes not been so quick. His shield was up only moments before the hex reached him and he retaliated vigorously sending curse after curse her way. She dodged as many as she could, even throwing up a well-rounded shield but she eventually copped one of them in the chest.

It didn't stop her.

All her frustration, her anger at both him and herself seemed to pour out with every single spell she cast, every shield she raised. Even though she knew he was holding back the duel itself was therapeutic. In saying this, her resentment didn't seem to shift and she kept casting until her arm felt like it was going to fall off.

"You're out of practice, dear," he told her as he crouched from behind the sofa.

"And you've gotten soft in your old age," she shot back, a smirk lining her lips without her consent as she hid just inside the doorway to her bedroom. She could feel unwanted elation creeping into her, sudden bliss and relaxation. It was odd to say the very least, that she should feel relaxed with the most dangerous man in Britain, especially when she was in the middle of a duel with him but she could feel through the mark on her arm that he was relaxed too, almost giddy. They seemed to get mutual enjoyment from beating the snot out of each other.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Thirty years ago you would've had me flat on my back by now."

She threw another hex at the sofa, effectively blowing it up and forcing him to move from his hiding place. As he dodged towards another piece of furniture she had to duck back behind the doorway to avoid something that was obviously dark and dangerous. When she turned back to throw something else at him she couldn't find any trace.

Then her wand was across the room and her back was slammed against the wall with Tom smiling down at her.

"Well, you aren't flat, but you're certainly on your back," he said. Despite her unease at him being so close she laughed. To her surprise, he permitted himself a little chuckle, sliding his hands from her wrists down to her shoulders and resting his forehead against hers.

"Do you remember the last time we dueled like that?" He asked her softly. From the way the mark hummed against her skin she could tell that he wasn't speaking of their parting duel but more or less their very first duel.

"Yeah, when you realised that stunners wouldn't work you tried to snog me to death," she laughed.

"I think for once, death wasn't on my mind, dear," he smiled.

"No, but something sinister definitely was."

"What makes you say that?"

"I think your exact words were "Damn it all to hell"."

He laughed again and she couldn't help but join him. She half expected him to try and kiss her in that moment, like he had the last time they had dueled with no intent to kill but he surprised her by stepping back. She felt the mark pulse when he let go of her shoulders and walked to retrieve her wand and absentmindedly itched at it until he came back and handed her weapon back, standing closely again.

The look in his eyes…she would have sworn he was putting on an act if she couldn't feel the proof of it running through her veins. The sheer adoration there was astounding. She could tell it stemmed from something dark and dangerous, something twisted inside his head but it was there none the less. He also happened to be fighting off a particularly large bout of lust. It was almost…endearing.

"Does this mean that I'm forgiven?" He asked her briefly.

He just had to bring her back to reality, didn't he?

"No," she glared.

He sighed and stepped back again, once more leaving her feeling just a little bit lost as he walked over to the coffee table and checked that the vial hadn't been broken in their duel.

"Make sure you take this on a stomach full of water several hours before the party," he told her.

"Why several hours?" She asked skeptically.

"You'll need several hours to recover," he told her, "It's rather volatile."

She made a mental note to obey these instructions when she felt his queasiness as he looked at it. Obviously he had tested it on himself before giving it to her. She then wondered if he had branded himself or had one of his followers do it for him. She figured that it would be rather degrading for Tom, having someone like Abraxus point his wand at him and be forced to show weakness in pain, so perhaps he had given it to himself?

"Speaking of which," he said after a while, "Who are you going with to this party?"

She snorted at him.

"That really isn't any of your business," she told him.

"I would be more than happy to make it my business," he told her firmly, "You're an attractive witch, even in this decade. I won't have some boy thinking he can touch what is-"

"Not yours," she cut him off quickly, "I don't belong to you Tom."

"Are you sure of that?" He asked her quietly, contemplatively. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was attempting to get an emotional reaction out of her but she refused to budge. She remained as stoic inside as she was on the out.

"Very sure," she told him, "So you had best put it out of your mind."

"You know I'll find out."

"Even if you do, there's nothing you can do about it."

"I could always kill him."

She snorted at him and then laughed.

"What's so funny?" He asked, frowning at her. It was good to see her laugh but he really didn't like it when it directed at him and not with him.

"You don't want to kill him," she told him, "You really don't want to."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"So it's someone I know then?" He asked.

"Why do you even care?" She countered.

"I don't like other people touching my things," he said simply, "Especially when I'm unable to protect my things as I should."

And just like that he managed to get her angry again.

"I'm not a thing," she told him firmly, "I'm not yours and I don't need protection from anyone but you."

"Give it time and you'll see it my way dear," he smirked. As he did so he looked at the clock and his eyes widened, "Crap, I'm late."

"What for?" She asked.

He looked at her briefly before making up his mind and walking over to her, kissing her cheek before she could stop him.

"Believe me when I say that you don't want to know."


	11. Age and Treachery

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Before we go on into the next chapter I would just like to give a massive apology for the super long wait. A little while after I posted the last chapter my Aunt passed away and it really threw my life out of sink for a while, so much so that I had a massive wall between me and my computer for a long time. Not only that, but I had a rather large bout of writer's block to deal with once I managed to get back to my screen.**

**So without further delay, I give you the next chapter of One Timeless Choice!**

**R.I.P Terri Andrews-Warwick, this chapter is dedicated to you!**

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Chapter Ten: Age and Treachery…

The weeks passed by, snow blanketed the grounds and what little hours of light there were, were not enough for Hermione Granger. As the holidays sped towards them, she and Severus found that their workload doubled and almost every waking hour was spent in the library researching and perfecting the recipes for the first brewing of their experiments. Both Slughorn and Eileen felt that it would be best to start the experimentation phase within the next week in order to get an idea of where each student was at before the holidays and how much work they had left to do.

For Hermione this was not a problem. She had all the research she needed, her ingredients were relatively simple and easy to find and her method was just about ready to trial. For Severus however it was an entirely different batch of Gillyweed…

"Severus this is completely ridiculous and you know it!"

She was beyond mad at him by this point. All afternoon she had been telling him what an idiot he was, how stupid he was being and what kind of trouble he would get into if his mother found out but he seemed to refuse to listen to her.

"It's not like I'm going to take it," Severus rolled his eyes at her, "Honestly Hermione, you're acting like I'm an addict."

She looked down at the Magic Mushrooms in his hand and growled again. She didn't know how he had got a hold of them but she swore that she was going to murder whoever sold them to him. That was when another question came to mind.

"How could you afford them?" She exclaimed and he looked at her sharply, "Oh come on Severus, you and I both know that you're a person of limited means. We both are for Merlin's sake!"

"There are certain people in this world who owe me favors," he told her cryptically, "Certain people with more means than we could ever dream of."

That was when it hit her and she glared at him more fiercely than she did before.

"You went to Lucius Malfoy, didn't you?" She screamed and he looked at her with shock and confusion.

"How do you know him?" Severus asked. Damn him and his perceptive nature.

"Everyone's heard of the Malfoys, Severus," she rolled her eyes, hoping that that would be enough to convince him. She really didn't want to tell him that she knew Abraxus just as well as she knew Eileen. It would definitely be a step in the wrong direction. He seemed to take it well and let the subject drop as he moved over to one of the cauldrons in the lab.

"You have no idea how valuable this could be, do you?" He asked as he dropped the Magic Mushrooms inside the cooling liquid that he had prepared before she had found him.

"It doesn't matter how valuable it could be, you're risking everything simply by having them in your possession!" She yelled, "Do you really think Dumbledore would hesitate to expel you if he knew you had them?"

In actuality he probably would but that was not the point. She needed to get it through his thick skull that he couldn't just wonder around the castle with illegal substances in his pocket. Especially with his mother around. Hermione wasn't sure whether Eileen had divulged her family history to her son but she was sure that he had been thoroughly warned away from the temptations that his Grandfather had faced.

"The only way he's ever going to find out is if you tell him," Severus said as he began to stir the cauldron clockwise. The liquid turned a bright purple colour and he added some Boomslang skin to the mix before stirring it counter-clockwise.

"You know I wouldn't do that to you," she glared.

"Exactly," he smirked, "So I have nothing to worry about."

She rolled her eyes at him and sat down, watching him work. Her bad mood soon abated as she saw him analyze its contents. It was rather relaxing watching his nimble fingers do what they did best. He was so graceful and poised in every move he made. While Hermione was always quicker and more efficient in her potion making he made it seem like an art rather than a science. It was because of this natural grace and ability that he always turned out a better potion than she did when they did their scheduled brewing in the mornings. They would be given the same potion to make and while hers would do as it was supposed to, his would be far more potent.

"Do you have your dress for tonight?" He suddenly asked as he poured in some dragon's blood.

"Yes," she nodded, "I went shopping with Leopold yesterday."

"I'm sure he enjoyed that," Severus smirked.

Oh yes, his older self most certainly had enjoyed it. Dumbledore had given her enough money to go and get something for the evening and had instructed the older Severus to go with her as a bodyguard, not that she really needed one. Severus scowled every time she asked for his opinion but he gave it none the less and as a result she had ended up with a lovely dress. What's more is that she ended up with it half price after Severus haggled for her so that she could go and get some shoes too. He had promptly put his foot down when she had asked to go and get undergarments too, however.

"Speaking of Professor Evans, will he be attending tonight?"

"Yes," Hermione told him, "Professor Slughorn insisted, much to his distaste. I hear certain other notable figures of society are going to be there as well."

"I overheard Davies telling Bulstrode that there was going to be a vampire there," Severus chuckled darkly, "Wouldn't that be interesting?"

"Not really," she scrunched her nose up, hoping that it wouldn't be the same vampire from her sixth year. He had been one of the creepiest creatures she had ever seen in her life and was not keen to meet him a second time.

He looked up at her for the briefest moments before returning his eyes to the Salamander Scales he was currently turning into powder.

"Do you wish for me to pick you up from your room tonight?" He asked her. She thought about it for a few moments and then shook her head. The chance that Tom would show up tonight was far too likely and she didn't want either of the Severus's in her life to see him.

"I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall," she told him, "Leopold will be going ahead of me to help Slughorn set up so I'll see you at around eight-ish?"

"Alright," he said as he dumped the powder into the cauldron, "It's a date."

~O~

A few hours later Hermione found herself standing in front of her mirror, doing her best to make her reflection look more appealing. Her hair was twisted in an elegant knot at the back of her head with a few curly strands left at the front to frame her face. Her makeup was light and fresh and she wore only a silver bracelet that Eileen had given her for the night, which went wonderfully with her sky-blue dress. It was simple, strapless, floor-length dress that showed off respectable cleavage and hugged her curves nicely. It was simple, it was elegant and it looked nothing like the dress that Tom had given her so many years ago…Yet every time she looked at her reflection she couldn't help but see Hermione Evans of 1944 with the black medusa curls and stunning dark green, almost black satin dress. It was clear to her now more than ever that her experiences over the last few months had changed her. She just didn't know whether it was for the better or not.

"You look beautiful."

Tom's frame slowly slid in behind her reflection, placing his hands over her bare shoulders. She was so stunned at first that she couldn't move but her brain began to work after a while and she moved herself away from the mirror. A smirk slid over his features when she moved away from him.

"I'm not too keen on the dress though," he said, "The colour doesn't suit you at all."

"I happen to like the colour," she said quietly as she sat on the bed and put on her heels.

"Who are you going with tonight?" He asked her.

"None of your business," she answered promptly.

"Rumor has it, it's Severus Snape."

She looked up at him sharply. How did he find out?

"I have my sources," he said, reading the question straight out of her mind. She sighed, shook her head and looked away from him as she tied one of the straps of her shoes around her ankle. She knew exactly how he had found out. Severus had gone to Lucius for Magic Mushrooms, talk ensued…and now the Dark Lord knew all about it.

"I only have one question," Tom told her as he moved to stand in front of her, his robes creating a billowing black curtain in her direct line of vision.

"Oh yes? And what's that?" She asked snidely. She was suddenly rather irritated with him.

"Why him?" He asked, "If it's a bid to make me jealous it will not work."

"Don't flatter yourself Tom," she rolled her eyes, "The world does not revolve around you."

"Yours does," he said simply as he knelt down before her and took her last shoe from her hands and placed it on her foot. One of his hands slid up her calf as he did so, taking the tie with him to wrap around her ankle. Hermione felt shivers wrack her body as his artful fingers came in contact with her bare skin and she did her best to suppress them.

"No it doesn't," she whispered, not at all with conviction. He looked up at her, his hands never leaving her leg as he straightened up so that he was almost level with her. She had to fight hard to ignore the thrills he sent through her.

"Why him?" He whispered back to her, "Why not Nott? Or Warrington? They would have been more than happy. Besides, I hear that Snape is still in love with the other Evans, the mudblood."

That snapped her out of it. She pulled her leg from his grip and moved away from him again to stand over by the mirror, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"You do remember that I am a mudblood, don't you?" She sneered.

"No, you aren't," he said simply. At first his statement confused her.

"Yes I am," she told him, "My parents were muggles."

"Your parents are irrelevant," he told her. She stared at him through narrowed eyes. How could he say that her parents were irrelevant when they were responsible for her creation? For her heritage? It didn't make any sense.

"My parents made me who I am," she told him firmly.

"Your parents were merely the tools of your creation," he told her as he got up and walked over to her side of the room, "They and their blood do not matter."

"Then my blood doesn't matter?" She asked, "Is that what you're saying?"

"Your blood matters," he told her, "Where it came from does not."

She couldn't help it. She laughed at him, fully laughed at him.

"I hate to break it to you Tom but closing your eyes and telling yourself it isn't real doesn't make my blood any purer," she scoffed, "I'm a mudblood, you know it, I know it, hell even Severus knows it and he's known me for all of five minutes!"

"You still haven't answered my question," he said, suddenly changing the subject, "Why Snape?"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Because it seems he's the only person in this world that doesn't want anything from me," she told him, looking over at the clock and deciding it was definitely time they parted ways, "Now if you'll excuse me-"

She had attempted to leave the room but Tom had caught her around the waist and brought her very close to him. He backed her up until her back hit the wall next to the door to her room and she let out a little grunt of surprise. The mark on her arm hummed at the contact, buzzing with excitement for being so close to its master.

It roared with triumph when the Dark Lord's lips came in contact with her own.

For several minutes she considered biting him but the tension that had been between them for so many weeks melted and she felt herself slowly giving in. His hand wound around her waist, hers went to his shoulders and biceps and he kissed her as though death were upon their doorstep.

After many minutes he pulled out and stared down at her with hungry eyes.

"What was that for?" She whispered.

"Just a reminder in case he does want something from you," he whispered back as he let go, "Have fun at your party, dear."

As he swept out of the room, Hermione slumped against the wall and allowed herself a shaky breath. Her lips were still tingling, her body was aching for him and yet her mind was roaring in anger. But as she glanced over at the clock once more she realised she didn't have time to waste contemplating what had just happened. At the rate she was going she would be late to her own funeral.

She swallowed the potion that Tom had given her and left immediately, running as fast as she could in her heels and when she finally reached the Entrance Hall she found Severus standing there, leaning casually against a stone wall in black, tuxedo robes. He did look rather dashing to her eyes, especially with his hair tied back neatly behind his head. The moment he saw her he stood up straight and waited for her to descend the stairs. His eyes were locked on her completely, his mouth hanging slightly open in wonder. Hermione, while flattered, thought that this was a dangerous expression for him to be wearing whilst staring at her.

"Do stop drooling Severus," she smirked, "It's not dignified."

He seemed to shake himself out of his reverie and fix her with his usual sardonic smile.

"It's your own fault," he told her, "Do you have any idea how many people are going to be drooling over you tonight? It'll be positively disgusting."

She put on a look of mock shock.

"Merlin!" She said, "Was that a compliment from the notorious Severus Snape?"

"Treasure it always," he smirked, "You will not get another one."

She couldn't help but laugh as she linked her arm with his and they ventured down to the dungeons together. When they reached Slughorn's office Hermione couldn't help but feel déjà vu. The decorations were exactly the same as thirty years ago, the same baubles, the same fairy lights, everything. Hell, even the food and the punch looked the same. She had to keep reminding herself that the difference this time was that she didn't have to play the lady of darkness, that her dance partner was not the devil in disguise and that she wouldn't be murdering someone when it was all over. So many images flooded her mind as they moved further into the room, so many memories that she would rather have forgotten.

The room didn't stop its activities this time around just to stare at them, though slowly one by one the patrons of the party began to whisper at the sight of her with Severus Snape. When she felt Severus tense she remembered some advice she had been given long ago.

"Relax," she whispered in his ear, "They're like dogs, they can sense fear. Straighten yourself up and show them what you're made of."

She hadn't expected him to do as he was told, at least not straight away, but he heeded her advice very willingly. He looked down on everyone who stared at them, as if daring them to say something against him bringing her here as his date for the evening and one by one they all turned away either frightened or seemingly disinterested.

"Severus! Hermione!"

The two of them groaned together as Slughorn finally spotted them and waddled over to where they stood. Severus didn't bother to put a smile in his face but Hermione forced the corners of her lips to turn upwards.

"Professor," Severus greeted politely.

"I didn't know that you two were coming together!" He boomed.

"It was a last minute decision," Hermione lied smoothly.

"Yes," Severus suddenly smirked, "We were out picking wild chilies when she suddenly popped the question."

At first she had been confused by what he had said but as she let her eyes wander she suddenly saw the Marauders, all in gold tuxedo robes, and James staring at them wildly. Her eyes then came to rest on Sirius who was looking at her very much the same way that Severus had. She suddenly wished she had bought a cloak with her.

"Well I'm glad you did come together, though, Hermione," Slughorn went on, "Is it really…wise?"

Severus looked confused by Slughorn's question but Hermione knew very well what he was going on about.

"Perhaps not, Professor," she told him quietly, "But at this moment I really couldn't care less."

Slughorn's smile became somewhat saddened but he didn't say anything else. Severus gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head at him, silently saying that it was nothing important.

"Well, while you're both here there are some people I would like the two of you to meet!" Slughorn ushered the two of them through the crowds, Severus suddenly taking a hold of Hermione's hand so that they would not lose each other. It seemed that through out the night they were bombarded with chatter and offers and dialogues that Hermione found to be useless and boring, however she managed to keep her smile intact for the evening. Severus faltered a few times while in the presence of the Minister for Magic himself however the man seemed to put his sneering down to nerves rather than actual dislike.

"He makes the Giant Squid look like Albert Einstein," Severus told her as they made their way to the dance floor for the first time an hour later, "How he hasn't managed to run this country into the ground is beyond me."

"Say it a little louder, Severus, so he can hear you," she grumbled as he took a hold of her waist, "He is a bit of a bore though."

"A bit?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Ok, a lot," she conceded, "He makes detention scrubbing cauldrons seem fun."

He smirked as they began to sway to a slow tune by Celestina Warbeck who seemed to be all the rage in this time. As they danced, Hermione could now see why Molly Weasley always had her blaring about the Burrow. To her surprise, Severus was a very graceful dancer and as she looked over to a distant corner to where Eileen was furiously dragging "Leopold" to the floor a question soon came to mind.

"I'm surprised at you," she suddenly said to Severus, "I thought for sure I was going to have to drag you kicking and screaming to the floor. Yet, you were the one who led me here."

Severus looked over towards Leopold and Eileen and smirked.

"My mother is very fond of dance," he told her, "She taught me. I learned to…tolerate it, with time."

It seemed a little more than toleration as he led her about the floor. He was every bit as skillful and graceful with his feet as he was with his hands. He twirled her effortlessly, led her comfortably and not once faltered in his steps. As a couple of songs flew by a small smile began to line his lips. Yes, it was definitely more than toleration, though she would never dare to tell him this. Instead, she contented herself with smirking at him. Then she realised that she wasn't the only one smirking.

"They're all staring," she told him has he gave her another turn.

"I told you the drooling would be disgusting," he snorted.

"It's not just me they're drooling over though, Severus," she smirked. It was indeed true. As they looked around at the many inquiring eyes she could see that at least some of the female population in the room were looking at Severus in a new light. Lily in particular was staring at him with new wonder, something that James was obviously not too happy about as he led her out of the room. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

"Do they amuse you?" Severus asked her.

"Their reactions do," she laughed again as he dipped her with the last quavering note of Cauldron full of hot strong love.

"Should we give them something to really stare at?" He asked her quietly, a mischievous look in his dark eyes.

"Perhaps later Mr Snape. For the moment, I would very much like it if I could cut in."

They both looked up to see Dumbledore's old face smiling down at them. Severus immediately straightened them both and handed her over courteously. He then slinked back to the side of the floor and watched the two of them begin to sway to yet another song. Hermione was rather grateful that he didn't disappear entirely, after all, she wasn't entirely sure how long she wanted this dance to go on for.

"How are you faring this evening, Miss Evans?" Dumbledore asked her politely as she returned her attention to him.

"Rather well, Professor," she smiled, "I have an excellent date for the evening."

"Yes," Dumbledore smiled, "I can certainly see why you would draw comfort from Mr Snape most of all. Tell me, has Horace introduced you to the Minister yet?"

"Yes," she wondered briefly how honest she should be.

"What did you think of him?" He asked.

"He was…different," she answered, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

"I have been friends with Minster Pulson for many years now," he said as he twirled her about, "I taught him just under twenty years ago."

"Really?" She asked wearily.

"Yes," he nodded, "In fact, it seems that I've taught most of the people in this room. There seem to be only a few missing."

She didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Yet some of them do come back from time to time," he said, indicating a far corner as they turned, "Like Mr Malfoy for instance. He and his son are both on the Board of Governors."

As they moved she could indeed see Abraxus sitting and chatting with the Minister for Magic and while she was curious about what they had to discuss she was once more drawn in by Dumbledore.

"And of course Mrs Snape has rejoined us to help Horace with your apprenticeship," Dumbledore told her as they watched both Eileen and "Leopold" look at Malfoy with narrowed eyes. "I believe I also saw Mr Cygnus Black was invited here tonight as well, though he had to decline for the needs of his family."

At the sound of Cygnus' name her suspicions became even more aroused. She decided that she didn't want to play any games this evening.

"Let us drop pretenses, Headmaster," she said smoothly, "What is it that you want from me?"

He remained silent for several moments before his aged voice asked her something that she did not expect.

"Is there another former student of mine that you have seen recently, Hermione?"

Chills went up her spine as the song ended and the old Headmaster released her. She did her best to maintain a firm poker face but something about the way he looked at her told her that he could see straight through her defences. There was disappointment in his eyes, disappointment that she hadn't been the source of for a very long time. It created shame within her and an unexplained anger. She could feel the invisible mark on her wrist stinging at the thought of the old man knowing who had been visiting her rooms in the last couple of months.

"Is there something you wish to tell me, Hermione?" He asked her softly. For a few moments she thought of telling him the truth, of how much of a weight it would be off her shoulders but Tom's words came back to her at full force…

_"The devils are inside the walls," he whispered back, "And they aren't reporting back to me. They may be your friends now but soon enough they will turn on you dear…You know of whom I speak…"_

Both of these men had spies inside the castle, of this she was sure, and yet she also knew that they weren't spying on each other. She knew how valuable she could be to the both of them, how much both she and the older Severus could be of service. She also knew, without Tom's help, that Dumbledore was human and like any human he was selfish at heart. He would do anything to see that his objective was met…

"No Professor," she whispered back, her face suddenly cold as ice, "There is nothing I wish to tell you."


	12. Youth and Enthusiasm

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**Here's the next bit. Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to let me know if you think I'm being a bit of a bitch by leaving it where it is lol.**

**Ciao!**

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Chapter Eleven:…Youth and Enthusiasm

Severus led her away from the floor after that and Slughorn caught up with them again for another round of 'Meet and greet'. The entire time, all Hermione could think of was her encounter with the Headmaster. She wondered how he knew, or in fact if he knew at all. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had only said it to put her on edge, give his suspicions grounding.

"What did he say?"

She was brought out of her musings by another familiar voice. She looked up to see Eileen standing by their side. She looked rather concerned as she surveyed the other girl before turning to her son.

"Severus, could you please go and get us some punch?" She asked him with a smile. It was then that Hermione noticed he looked just as concerned as Eileen. She briefly wondered where his older counter part had got to but put it out of her mind as Eileen led her over to a dark corner of the room.

"What did he say to you? The Headmaster?" She asked again.

"Nothing important," Hermione told her swiftly. Eileen rolled her eyes.

"Hermione, remember who you're talking to," she hissed, "I've only ever seen one person but that kind of fear in your eyes before."

Did she really look fearful? She didn't feel it. She was angrier than anything else, more shocked and surprised that Dumbledore had even thought to accuse her…

"What did he say to you?" Eileen asked again.

She hesitated, but answered nonetheless.

"He asked if I had seen Tom recently," Hermione whispered, "I told him no."

Eileen's brow knitted together in confusion.

"How did he know?" She asked, "I mean, Leopold hasn't been there when he's come to call, has he? And surely even if he had, if you asked him to-"

"He would keep it quiet," Hermione nodded, "But no, he hasn't been there."

"So then how would he-?" Eileen cut herself off, "Then again, maybe he was just saying it to get a rise out of you. He used to do it all the time to us in school. Whenever he didn't have any concrete fact he would…lightly intimidate people, keep pushing until he got answers."

Hermione said nothing. Eileen's argument made sense and yet she couldn't help but think that it was more than that.

"Look," Eileen said after a while as she saw Severus make his way back, "Just put it out of your mind for now and deal with it later. He's gone back to his office now. You won't have to see him again at least until tomorrow."

Hermione gave her a brief smile of thanks as she accepted the punch from Severus and Eileen moved back into the crowd to find Leopold. Severus then settled down beside her and she couldn't help but note the concern in his eyes.

"My mother is very fond of you," he said.

"Yes," she smiled back after taking a sip from her cup, "But for the life of me I can not understand why."

"For the same reasons I am…fond of you," he seemed to struggle with the words and it was rather comical. Hermione couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh really?" she laughed, "Come, Mr Snape, do lavish me with words of affection."

"I'd rather not," he rolled his eyes.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Your head is already overly large with that brain of yours," he smirked, "I wouldn't want to crush it with a puffed up ego."

She laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder. He took a sip from his own cup before depositing it on a passing elf's tray. He then took her cup out of her hands and placed it on the floor.

"Hey, I was drinking that!" She said, trying to sound offended but the smile on her face made it halfhearted.

"Slughorn is on his way," he told her, "And unless you want to go and meet Mr-"

"Let's go," she cut him off, taking his hand and practically dragging him across the room. However they made it all of five steps before Severus was abruptly stopped by the sound of his name. He and Hermione turned back to see a young man coming towards them with a curtain of white blond hair and a pale pointed face. Hermione felt chills go up her spine as a young Lucius Malfoy made their way towards them. He looked so much like Draco had before the older Severus had given him a makeover. The fine cheekbones, the pale skin, the shade of blond on his head…it was all just so familiar. She had to resist the urge to hug him the moment she saw him and wipe the look of wonder and longing off her face.

"Lucius," Severus actually smiled at the man, "Good to see you. Is your father here?"

"He had to decline and sent me in his place," Lucius smiled back. It was almost baffling. What little memory she had of Lucius Malfoy was of a cold man, constantly calculating and spiteful towards anyone who crossed him. This young man seemed surprisingly open and polite.

"I'd like to introduce my partner, Miss Narcissa Black," Malfoy said, bringing forward a very pretty young woman with equally blond hair and lithe figure. She seemed very timid but smiled at the both of them nonetheless. Hermione had seen the future Mrs Malfoy even less than she had seen her husband and yet this was also remarkably different to what she had witnessed.

Severus stepped forward cordially and kissed the older woman's knuckles and then proceeded to introduce Hermione. At the sound of her name, there was a considerable change in Lucius. While Narcissa shook her hand and smiled back at her, Lucius didn't seem to know whether to bow or strangle her. Clearly Tom hadn't kept his intentions toward her entirely quiet. Finally he bent forward and brushed his lips against the back of her hand much in the same way that Severus had.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans," he said quietly.

"And you, Mr Malfoy," she replied politely, fighting as hard as she could to keep her smile on her face.

"Tell me, has Severus been treating you well?" Narcissa suddenly piped in as she took Lucius' hand in her own as though to remind him who he should be gawking at. Clearly she took his expression to be one of interest rather than wonder or confusion.

"Yes, very well," she smiled back, "If it were not for him, I'm sure I would be bound to Professor Slughorn's wall and gawked at by all the guests he deems to be important."

"It seems all the lessons we gave him paid off then," Narcissa smiled as Hermione looped her arm with Severus', as though it were some confirmation that she wasn't after Lucius.

"Lessons?" Hermione asked her.

"Before we left Hogwarts ourselves," Lucius seemed to snap out of it, "Severus was rather…antisocial, so we took it upon ourselves to train him in the ways of the gentleman in case a lady such as yourself caught his eye."

"Did these lessons include dancing, by any chance?" She asked him as she felt Severus become uncomfortable.

"No, his mother taught him all that," Lucius smirked, "The table manners, etiquette and general cleanliness are all our doing."

She couldn't help the giggle that rose in her throat and Severus glared at her as the sudden image of him walking around with a pile of books on top of his head invaded her mind. She then turned her eyes back to Lucius who was staring at her again with concerned eyes. This time it was Severus himself who broke the silence.

"Narcissa, I wonder whether you would permit-" He was cut off when said woman was promptly dragged away from them. It took a moment for Lucius, Severus and Hermione to react but then they promptly ran after the now wailing woman, instructing the man carrying her to put her down or suffer the consequences. It reminded Hermione of a movie she had once seen in her time involving a princess who knew karate, a talking donkey and an ogre with poor eating habits.

The three of them caught up with Narcissa and her captor just as she was carted out the dungeons and up into the Entrance Hall. Hermione drew her wand from the holster on her leg and fired a well aimed stunner at the man's back, causing him to drop Narcissa and turn and face the three of them wildly. When he did turn around both he and Hermione froze in place. Cygnus Black stood before her, his daughter screaming angrily at his side as he stared at his former friend in shock.

"Mr Black?" Lucius exclaimed, suddenly bowing his head, "I apologise sir, I didn't recognize you."

"I can't believe you did this to me!" Narcissa screeched, her lady-like exterior suddenly disappearing to be replaced by a spoiled child. That seemed to snap his eyes away from Hermione and return his mind to the current problem. He glared down at his daughter.

"Go back to the manor," he growled, "Your mother is waiting for you there."

"I'm twenty-three years old!" she screamed, "You can't just order me-"

"You aren't too old to go over my knee girl!" he roared, "Go! And if you think this is bad, just wait until your mother gets a hold of you!"

Narcissa paled at the thought of meeting her mother but resigned herself to meet her fate. In one last act of defiance she walked straight over to Lucius and kissed him passionately. Cygnus looked about ready to murder the two of them but Hermione gave him a stiff shake of the head and it seemed to keep him still until they had finished. Narcissa waked out of the hall with one last glare towards him.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Evans," she said stiffly as she went.

"You too, Miss Black," Hermione managed to smile back. Her attention was then drawn back to Lucius and Cygnus. Lucius' eyes were following Narcissa out the door with a sort of goofy smile that didn't quite belong on his aristocratic lips and Cygnus was breathing heavily, glaring with all his might.

"Might I suggest we take this discussion elsewhere, gentlemen," Hermione said, "This place is far too open and I think it would be prudent to save ourselves further embarrassment."

Reluctantly, the two older men agreed and Severus placed a protective arm around her shoulders as she directed them inside the Great Hall and into the adjacent trophy room. It was small, compact and there were no portraits that could carry word of the forthcoming argument to Dumbledore or any of the other teachers. Aside from the Room of Requirement this was the perfect place for them to battle it out.

"Now before you start yelling at each other, please give me your wands," Hermione said to the two of them. All three men looked alarmed. It was rather impertinent of her to ask such a thing seeing as one of the men she barely knew at all and she had to pretend to know nothing of the other. Severus was certain that the girl had a death wish.

"You know I can hurt him without a wand," Cygnus told her.

"Yes, but cuts and bruises and broken bones can be healed," she told him, "Curse scars, can not."

"I am not handing my wand over to someone I barely know," Malfoy argued coldly.

"Then give it to me," Severus suggested, "You know that she's right. If he curses you then your shame will be made public."

They were hesitant at first but after a while, Lucius retrieved his wand from his pocket and gave it to Severus. Hermione looked pointedly at Cygnus who handed his over with a sigh. She instantly placed it inside her holster and kept her own in her hand. She and Severus then took their seats by the school cup and watched and listened to the shouting match that soon began. It was incredibly one sided, with Lucius only getting in a few words as Cygnus warned him away from his daughters and told him that he would never be good enough for any of them, let alone his youngest. He screamed that he was only going after Narcissa because Andromeda was taken and Bellatrix wouldn't look at him twice and he wouldn't see his youngest in a loveless marriage just because Malfoy was too arrogant to pick a lesser bride. Malfoy argued weakly that that wasn't the case, that he had honorable intentions towards Narcissa and that this had nothing to do with his pride. He had indeed been attracted to Andromeda first but that had been while he was in school and now that he was free of the confinements of Hogwarts he was able to see which of the Black sisters he really loved.

Hermione for her part watched the argument with growing anxiety. Is this how it went before she had ventured back in time? Did Cygnus really tell the son of his best friend to sod off when he asked for Narcissa's hand in marriage? Had Lucius really been after Andromeda first? Or was it all her doing? Had she really screwed up the timeline that badly? It was true that this Lucius was very different from the one that she remembered, the same with Narcissa…but surely that wasn't her fault! Maybe they grew bitter and snobbish with time?

No. She had changed too much. She needed to fix this before the night was out. The only question was how she was going to do it. She watched a little more as the two men became more heated in their words and looked on the verge of a brawl and Cygnus had taken a hold of Lucius. Suddenly the door to the trophy room was thrown open and a ragged looking Abraxus burst through. The moment Cygnus saw him, he unhanded the man's son and threw a punch in the elder Malfoy's direction with a roar of untamed rage. It landed straight on Abraxus' nose, sending the elder man flying back through the door again. The younger Malfoy then dropped all pretenses of being polite, grabbed the nearest trophy and rammed it into Cygnus' gut, only to be tackled by his own father as the darker man hobbled out of the way. At first Hermione thought it had been a mistake but then she saw Abraxus land a punch on his son's cheek and the son began fighting back. Soon all three of them were fighting each other, no sides drawn, each out for their own and the result would have been rather comical had the trophy room not been half destroyed by the end of it.

"Are you bored yet?" Hermione leaned back on Severus' shoulder. He ran a hand through her now loose hair soothingly before flicking his wand and erecting a three way barrier between the men. She was surprised by the gesture at first. It was almost as if she were with the older Severus for a few moments, but she said nothing about it. Each of the now caged men looked around in shock, Abraxus finally having the thought to draw his own wand instead of throw punches and then they looked directly at the only source of their separation.

"Are you quite finished children?" She asked them, "Because I would like to get to bed some time soon."

Abraxus went to disarm the wards but Severus disarmed him before the thought even crossed his mind. His wand rolled along the floor until it reached their feet and Hermione picked it up, placing it next to Cygnus' in her holster and it was then that the answer suddenly occurred to her.

"Severus," she said quietly as he continued to stroke her hair, "Would you mind taking Lucius outside? I need to have a word with the other two."

Severus glared down at her in confusion.

"I don't like that idea," he told her.

"I'm armed, they're not," she told him, "I'll be fine."

He thought about it for a few moments.

"Very well," he told her before moving from his seat and ushering Lucius from the room. Hermione then demolished the barrier he had made and watched as the two older men glared at one another. Cygnus then began to walk towards her, not taking his eyes off of the elder Malfoy as he went and without warning he embraced her tightly. For a few moments she relished the contact, wrapping her arms around him too before releasing him.

"Mind telling me why I feel so old around you?" He asked with a small smile.

She couldn't help but smile back.

"It's a long and complicated story which will have to be explained at a later date," she told him, "Suffice it to say I don't belong in this time and I'm struggling to get back. For the moment I want to focus on you two."

That seemed to make him glare at Malfoy again who seemed to sneer at the other man even more now that he had his arms around Hermione. She couldn't tell whether it was because he deemed her as his master's prize or because he wanted to be in his place. There was no doubt in Hermione's mind that Cygnus had the better deal of the two. He had the love of a beautiful woman that he was free to love in return, was not being forced to serve a mad man or trying desperately to keep his son under control. It was very clear that in his mind it was better to be a Black than a Malfoy at the moment.

"First of all," Hermione began, "I thought the two of you declined your invitations to the party?"

"I did," Abraxus told her, "My wife is ill, so I sent Lucius in my place."

"Yeah, you sent him with my daughter!" Cygnus started yelling again, "I meant what I said Malfoy, your son will get nowhere with any of them!"

Hermione silenced him with a soft touch on his arm.

"From the way he was beating him up just before, do you really think Lucius went on his father's orders to take your daughter to the party?" She asked, "Come on Cygnus, be reasonable."

"She's right," Abraxus glared, "I told him to pick another."

"Then how-"

"Your daughter went to him," he said simply, "Asked him to accompany her. Apparently Slughorn invited her because of her position beside the Minister for Magic and she wanted a date for the evening. Lucius was the first one she sought after."

"So why-"

"Because I told him to respect your wishes," Abraxus cut him off, not needing to know where the conversation was going, "I told him to stay away from your children and for the most part he did. It seems however that Narcissa has a few…hidden talents when it comes to men. I always told you that Veela blood in your family would come back to haunt you-"

"So you're telling me it's my fault she has a thing for your decrepit, idiotic-"

"My son is _not_ decrepit or idi-"

"He isn't worth the ground Cissy walks-"

"If Narcissa wasn't such a-"

"Both of you shut it!" Hermione silenced them. They each looked at her then as though they had forgotten she was there in the first place. She rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"Is this really what you two have been reduced to?" She asked, "The heads of two of the world's most powerful families reduced to bickering like an old married couple? It's ridiculous."

"He started it," Cygnus muttered.

"Did not," Abraxus muttered back.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Don't care," Hermione told them with a sigh of frustration, "And whether or not you two interfere, _your son_ and _your daughter_ are going to get together and stay together for many years to come."

They both looked at her with surprise.

"You know that…for a fact?" Abraxus asked her carefully.

"Yes," she told him, "It'll just go a hell of a lot smoother if you two lay off and let it happen."

"My daughter should not have to be reduced to being a Death Eater's wife," Cygnus growled.

"It's going to happen, Cygnus," she told him, "Make your peace with it."

"Why do you care so much that we leave them be?" He asked.

"Because someone very dear to me will be born from that union," she told him firmly, "And I will not have my interference with time putting a stop to it."

"How could you coming back to-"

"Because if it weren't for me you wouldn't have been thrown from the Dark Lord's service," she told him bluntly.

"Is anyone going to let me finish a sentence?" Cygnus huffed at the ceiling.

"If I hadn't come back to 1944 then you would have stayed a Death Eater," she told him, "You would have remained friends with Abraxus, gone on to marry Druella and had your daughters and married them off to the first purebloods who would take them."

"I would never-" He began angrily but she cut him off again.

"Not now," she told him reassuringly, "I know that now you would never do such a thing but…if I hadn't come back then you would have done exactly as every other pureblood had done before you. It's just the natural order of things and I disrupted it."

Cygnus seemed conflicted and as far as Hermione was concerned he had every right to be so. On the one hand he had his youngest daughter's life and freedom to care for, her wellbeing and safety. On the other he now had Hermione's burden of knowing things could possibly turn catastrophic if he kept her away from Lucius Malfoy. Who knew what would happen if he disrupted time's tapestry that was slowly trying to be repaired.

He closed his eyes, almost as though he were in pain and then turned to Hermione.

"Will she be happy?" He asked, his voice little above a whisper, "Will he keep her safe from _him_?"

She stuttered.

"I-I can't answer that," she whispered.

"Hermione please," he said quietly, "This is my daughter. You must tell me."

"I can't Cygnus," she told him, "It will weigh on your decission-"

"Which is why I'm asking you," he said, taking her hands in his, "Begging you. Please. Will she be safe with him?"

Hermione stared at him for what felt like an eternity. Images and memories assaulted her conscience viciously as she remembered what Draco had told her in the early days of her journey into 1944, when all this chaos had begun…

_"I watched my mother die for me," he whispered back, "I won't let anyone else do the same."_

She could almost hear his voice inside her head now, urging her to tell him no, ordering her to tell him the truth and save Narcissa from the fate that she had been given. He would have done anything he could to save his mother from the torture, torment and eventual death that she had suffered. But she could also hear Severus' voice inside her head, urging her to lie, telling her that the world had to come first, that time could not be altered…

_For the greater good…_

She couldn't help but remember those four little words that had been uttered too many times for her taste. They always seemed to pop up when she had difficult decisions to make such as these, tormenting her, goading her, laughing at her as she struggled to do what she thought was right. They were a weight on her shoulders that she couldn't seem to shift.

For the second time since she had escaped 1944 she felt as though the world was much too small for her, as though the knowledge she had acquired and the knowledge that had been hers to begin with made her an anomaly in a world that wasn't made for her.

And it was suffocating. It was torturous and hellish and frightening but her friend was waiting for an answer…

She looked up at him and took a deep breath, trying as best as she could to keep the tears in her eyes from his vision as she used three words that she prayed she would never have to utter in bad faith again.

"He loves her."

She waited for him to make some kind of noise or signal to let her know what his next move would be but for the longest time he simply stared down at her, as though searching for some kind of lie. But her gaze was unflinching and her resolve was firm, no matter how much it tore her apart inside. Then he let go of her hands and turned back towards Abraxus.

It was when he was about to speak that the door was thrust open once more. Hermione had expected it to be either Lucius or the young Severus but was stunned into silence when Eileen and the older version of her son walked into the room. As the blond man took in the scene before him, as he saw two of her former friends glaring at one another and Hermione firmly in the center she could almost feel his temper rise. She thought that he would begin to yell or bark orders at her but it was Cygnus who broke the silence.

"You may tell your son," he said to Abraxus, "That he has my permission to court my daughter."

He then proceeded to storm out of the room, wordlessly summoning his wand, grabbing the hand of a shocked Eileen as he did so and dragging her with him. There was little protest from the woman who was simply happy to see her old friend and didn't even notice the presence of her former lover as she left. Blond Severus then turned towards Hermione with a murderous glare.

"What," he hissed, "Have you done?"

But Hermione wasn't listening. She was still reeling from Cygnus' decision, still trying to reconcile her own guilt. No matter what happened now, she knew that she had just played a very large part in the murder of Narcissa Black-Malfoy.

Then she suddenly felt him shaking her. He was so angry, yelling at her, barking orders…But she didn't hear any of it. It were as though she had suddenly gone deaf, her emotions acting as a shield against the abuse that was being hurled at her for telling Abraxus and Cygnus the truth. She distantly saw Abraxus try to pull him off her but he didn't succeed. It was then that Lucius and the younger Severus ran back into the room at the sound of a raised voice. As Hermione heard nothing, she didn't know how much the other two learned but she didn't think it was much. At seeing the younger Severus enter the room, tears began to leak from her eyes and she seemed to slowly come back to her senses.

"…Destroyed everything!" He roared, "You'll never learn will you? You'll never understand that the world can't be all rainbows and sunshine! Sacrifices must be made! Impertinent, stupid, selfish cow!"

What she did next was purely instinct. She gripped the wand in her hand, her breathing labored and she silently blasted him away from her. He landed on a trophy case on the other side of the small room, crashing into the glass and staring at her completely stunned by her actions. It was then that he noticed her tears, her body hunched over, racked by sobs.

"After," she struggled to gain enough control of herself to speak clearly, "After wh-what I just did…don't you dare call me selfish."

And she left him staring after her then. She shoved past both the Malfoys and the younger Severus, tossing Abraxus' wand to the floor and making her way up the stairs towards the seventh floor. It wasn't long however before the younger Severus caught up to her. She got the impression that he had never chased after an emotional girl before as he just stood there awkwardly at first. It was probably true actually, as she thought about it. She also knew that he was uncomfortable with tears, particularly a woman's tears. It was something that she had seen in both versions of Severus, young and old. But he seemed to find his feet as he at first took a hold of her hand and then brought her into a warm embrace. Her makeup ran all over his crisp, white shirt but he didn't seem to care as he just held her there in the abandoned corridor for what seemed like an eternity and she cried her heart out for all that she had done.

"Come," he whispered in her ear, "You aren't going back to your room tonight."


	13. Better Left Unsaid

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**I know! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me for leaving you with such a hanger! It wasn't intentional, I swear. My computer actually packed a sad on me and then my internet died and then I had a massive tantrum over the last two months because I couldn't write and then my brain decided to start working again and I stole dad's computer xD**

**Also a note to those of you who follow Objection Overruled too, the next chapter for that is almost done so expect an update very shortly!**

**As always R&R, even if it's just to tell me how much of a bitch I am for making you wait haha**

**Cheers guys**

**~VTM

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Chapter Twelve: Better Left Unsaid

It was sunlight that woke her. The glorious feel of the sun's rays on her skin as it rose across the sky. The heat was so comforting, almost as comforting as the strong arm wrapped around her waist. She was still fully clothed of course, as was he. It hadn't been his intention to take advantage of her in her emotional state and even if it had been she wouldn't have allowed it to happen. It was far too dangerous to even entertain the thought of an affair with young Severus Snape, even if it could hardly be considered an affair. She may not have been with Tom exclusively, but from the way he had kissed her the night before she knew he considered the nature of their relationship to be something…permanent.

"Do you even know _how_ to relax?"

The sound of his voice was so sudden that she flinched and then felt him smirk against her shoulder.

"I'll take that as a no," he said.

"Sod off," she smirked back, turning in his arms to rest her head against his chest. They had been rather uncomfortable sleeping in their clothes, Severus in his tuxedo robes and Hermione in her tight dress but it didn't seem to bother them much. While they were close enough to sleep in the same bed and hold each other during the night they were nowhere near where Hermione had been with Draco, where they could shed a few layers and still be comfortable.

"I think we should get up soon," she said to him, "There will be people looking for us."

"Consider me selfish but I do not care," he told her smoothly.

"So you don't care that your mother is worried about us?" She asked him. He frowned at the mention of his mother.

"Alright I do care," he admitted grudgingly, "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to move."

"And why ever not?" She asked him playfully.

"I'm comfortable," he said simply, "And I would rather catch up on my sleep than be yelled at."

He tightened his arm around her waist to emphasize this. She couldn't help but smile.

"Come on, lazy bones," she said to him, wriggling out of his reach, "We have more research to do for our projects and I daresay that illegal concoction you've got going in the dungeons will be ready by now."

"Are you _still_ harping on about that?" He asked her, rolling his eyes as he propped his head up on one of his hands and leaned on his side to look down at her.

"You took a big risk by going to Lucius Malfoy," she told him, "What if he started telling the Dark Lord about the kind of ingredients you need? The kinds of potions you're making?"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"So this isn't just about Dumbledore then?" he asked, "You're worried about _him_ too."

"Can you blame me?" She asked quietly, "I don't know what I would do if he suddenly set his sights on you. You're the only friend I have in this place. The only one I can trust."

He looked down at her with narrowed eyes for a few moments, as though searching for a lie.

"I know that your Uncle was rather…rough with you last night-"

She shook her head.

"As much as I love him," she was surprised to hear the words spilling so freely from her lips, "I feel as though the only reason he stays with me is to keep me in line."

He frowned at her.

"Dumbledore surely-"

She snorted at him.

"He's a manipulative old man who can only see two feet in front of him and that will never change," she said vehemently, "While his intentions are honorable his methods are decidedly…not."

Severus narrowed his eyes even further towards her but said nothing more on the subject. After all, he didn't exactly want to prove her wrong. It was comforting to know that she trusted him. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it was. Half an hour and a few uncomfortable words later saw them both searching for cloaks and shoes. As Hermione found her own and caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror just across from the door an uncomfortable thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Severus," she said as he laced up his shoes, "We look like we spent the night together."

"Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me, Evans," he smirked and she playfully smacked him on the shoulder.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she said, smirking back. Then his face suddenly lost its mirth and light expression. He somehow appeared to be vulnerable as she looked at him, as though if she said the slightest thing wrong his entire world would collapse around him.

"Would it…" he appeared to struggle for the right words, "Would it be so…horrible, if they thought you stayed with me?"

For only moments she was unsure of what he was asking her, whether he was asking her to pretend or only seeking reassurance. Then it clicked inside her mind, like turning on a light bulb and suddenly revealing all that had been hidden in shadow.

"If I told you that it wouldn't, would it really make you feel any better?" She asked him quietly, "Would it make you feel happier at the fact that _I_ was the one you held onto last night and not her?"

He looked away from her and said nothing. She placed a consoling hand on his shoulder and stood from the bed.

"I'm not ashamed of you Severus," she told him, "And I never will be. Likewise, you should never be ashamed of yourself. Don't let one woman's blindness affect how you see the world or your place in it."

"Even if that woman's opinion means more to me than anything else in the world?" He asked. She could tell that it was a struggle for him to admit that she had been affecting him all this time, that she was always in the back of his mind, a constant reminder of how much of a failure he was.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him.

"And mine means nothing?" She asked.

"That's not what I meant," he said quietly.

"I know," she told him, "But I'm starting to think that Dumbledore isn't the only one who is a little short sighted."

He finally looked up at her, his face a mixture of frustration at being called short sighted and vulnerability because she had hit a nerve and he didn't like it. But she didn't push him. Instead she continued to smile.

"I'm going to go and get changed," she told him, "I'll meet you in the dungeons in a few hours and we can get our first tests under way."

With that she left him to contemplate her words and made her way through the seventh floor. It didn't take her long before she reached her rooms and for that she was most ungrateful. She didn't particularly like the idea of being yelled at first thing in the morning, particularly by Severus. She was starting to think that the younger Severus had the better idea of staying in bed as fear suddenly crept up on her. So she hesitated and waited until she could swallow her foreboding, which took a long time.

Finally she managed to get a hold of herself and turn the handle to let herself inside. Once she did, she couldn't have regretted it more. For the longest time, all she did was stare at the scene before her, as it was something she had definitely not expected to see. She should have known that Severus wouldn't have been the only one who was angry with her for staying out all night.

"It seems we need to talk," Tom told her, his snake face in place for the first time since their first meeting. As she gazed at the other two occupants in the room she understood why. They were placed side by side, bound in hard, wooden chairs, Severus "Leopold" on the left and Lucius Malfoy on the right. Each were pleading with their eyes for reasons that weren't at all hard to guess. Lucius was begging her to tell his master that he had done nothing wrong, that he was innocent in whatever he was being accused of and undeserving of the punishment coming his way. Severus was simply begging her to run.

She did neither of these things. She stood completely rooted to the floor, shocked, frightened, a deer caught in the headlights. Tom walked slowly towards her and Severus began protesting through the silencing spell that had been placed over him. She didn't have to read his lips to know what he was saying.

Tom stood level with her, circling her, fingering her cloak and old gown. A spindly finger then reached out and ran through her tangled hair, all the while his ruby eyes remaining emotionless and gaunt. Then, that finger slipped lower and lower until it found the handle of her wand in the holster on her thigh. He took it before she could even think about reacting.

"You've been a very bad girl, Hermione." He said quietly, "You now have to be punished for it."

She still said nothing. His hands then made their way to her shoulders, guiding her inside and, using her own wand, shutting and soundproofing the door behind them. She felt a bubble of panic begin to well inside her with every step that she took, her palms sweating, her mind racing, and her senses all on edge. He placed her on the couch in such a manor that told her not to move and then proceeded to stand between the two other men in the room.

"Let's start with an easy question, shall we?" Tom said, "Something that only requires a yes or no answer."

She said nothing.

"Do you want both of these men to live?" He asked quietly. She glanced at the two of them and saw the same expressions on their faces. She had to get them out of this. She couldn't let them die for her mistake.

"Yes," she whispered to him, hesitantly.

His ruby orbs bored into her, scrutinizing her and willing her to say something else in their defence.

"Then we're going to play a game," he told her coldly, "I'm going to ask a question and you're going to answer truthfully. I'll know if you're lying, Hermione. That mark on your arm does more than link us together. You probably know that by now. But if for any reason you choose to lie, there will be consequences."

He then drew his wand and made a slashing movement in the air. Lucius let out a silent scream of anguish as a large gash appeared across his chest. Hermione moved to get off the couch but Tom pushed her back.

"No," he said firmly, "You don't get to run to their aid and kiss their booboos better. You will stay on that couch until I tell you otherwise or I might just direct my curses onto you as well. Are we clear?"

She looked over at Severus who was trying to send her a silent message to run, but running just wasn't an option any more.

"Yes," she whispered to Tom.

"Good," he said, "Now let's start with something simple. Why is Mr Malfoy here, sending you flowers in the middle of the night?"

Her eyes shot towards Lucius who was sweating and breathing heavily as his chest bled at an alarming rate.

"What flowers are you talking about?" She asked him. Tom narrowed his eyes at her for a few moments before producing the biggest bunch of white roses she had ever seen in her life. He threw them at her and her fingers bled when she came in contact with their thorns.

"White roses are grown in the Malfoy Manor gardens," he told her, "And are never just given away."

Ok this one was easy enough to answer and so she didn't hesitate when she found his eyes on her once more.

"Narcissa Black was here last night," she told him, "As a result her father turned up when he found out that she had come with Lucius. To cut a long story short, I helped get Cygnus' permission for Lucius to court his daughter. I suspect that Lucius was rather grateful for that."

He narrowed his eyes at her again but said nothing. Instead he healed the gash on his captive's chest and undid the binding spell. The moment he was released, Lucius fell to the floor, grasping his neck to try and sooth his aching throat and coughing like mad.

"It appears I owe you an apology, Lucius," Tom said.

"I do not ask for one, my Lord," Lucius whispered, "An honest mistake, I'm sure."

"Go and see your father," Tom told him, "He'll have the potions you need."

Lucius gave a stiff nod towards his master as he got up off the floor. His eyes then turned towards Hermione with a mixture of fear and curiosity, something that she hadn't ever seen from a Malfoy before. She didn't know what consequences would come from this meeting or what Lucius would do but she wasn't quite ready to find out.

"Go," she whispered to him. Fortunately he had the sense to listen, and he ventured through the floo without question. Tom then turned his eyes back to her. Now that Lucius had been found innocent his gaze had lost some of its edge, but not much.

"Well," he said quietly, "It appears you are innocent of one crime but another remains to be seen."

"I've got no idea what you're talking about," she said stonily. It was better to act as though she weren't terrified when in fact she felt as though her heart would explode at any moment. He was like a shark really, he could smell fear and he fed off it. If he caught even a glimpse of how frightened she really was then she wouldn't last the morning.

He walked back over to Severus' side of the room and stuck his wand at the blond man's throat. It was then that she heard a knock at the door. Tom looked at her sharply and she looked back at him.

"Oi! Evans! Wake up!" they heard from the other side.

"Now who could that be I wonder?" Tom asked, "Another one of your suitors perhaps?"

She knew exactly who it was but she had no idea why the hell he was there. She stood once more, making sure to place Severus carefully on his side before walking past Tom and going to the door.

"I take it you don't want _me_ to get rid of them, then?" He said lightly. Hermione glared at him before opening the door just slightly to see James Potter waiting outside for her.

"What do you want?" She whispered hurriedly.

"Dumbledore wants to see you," he told her.

"I can't see him right now," she said, getting ready to shut the door again but James placed his foot in between the door and the frame to stop her.

"He said that it was important." He insisted.

"I'll make sure to go and see him this afternoon then," she hissed, "Right now I just don't have the time."

"He asked me to escort you to his office personally. If I don't then I'm going to get into trouble."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Potter, believe me when I say that I know Dumbledore a hell of a lot better than you do," she said snidely, "And I know for a fact that he wouldn't punish you just because you couldn't get me to follow you down the hall. Tell him that I threatened to hex you if you must but I am not going to that office this morning. Good day."

With that, she kicked his foot out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face, something she was sure that he had never experienced before. She then turned her back to the door and leaned against it and stared at Tom who was now looking quite amused.

"Do I need to open that door and take care of him?" He asked her.

She shook her head.

"Good. Now what was I about to say before we were so rudely interrupted? Oh yes! Where did you go last night?" He asked her, so quietly that she had to strain to hear.

"To the party," she said automatically, "You saw me leave last night."

There was a pause.

"Wrong answer," he whispered, "Crucio."

Even though his voice had been taken from him, Hermione had never heard Severus scream so loud. He shuddered and shook and when she leaped from the couch to get to him, to try and save him from the fate that should have been her own, Tom erected a barrier between them. She hammered her fists against it and screamed at him to let Severus go, that he could have her instead, that he could torture her senseless if he just let him go. Then she realized that she wasn't talking to Tom anymore. This wasn't the boy with dark ambitions and unseemly dreams. This was the nightmare from her time that everyone was afraid to utter the name of. It was only now that she stood before him in all his glory that she really understood why people like McGonagall and Ollivander were so frightened of him.

It was what drove her to confess.

"I spent the night with Severus Snape!" She screamed. Tom finally stopped what he was doing and stared at her in disbelief.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing happened," she told him desperately, "I was upset and he took me to the Room of Requirement because I didn't want to come back here. We stayed there and we fell asleep, that's all."

He narrowed his eyes at her before getting rid of the barrier. He marched right up to her and they stood mere inches apart. She could feel his breath on her face as he stared down at her, searching for lies, not only through their unwanted bond but also in the depths of her eyes. After awhile he brought his hand up to her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the single tear that had fallen from her eyes. She took that as a sign of acceptance and immediately withdrew herself from him to tend to Severus. His head was lolling to the side and his eyes were almost rolling into the back of his head. She untied him and he fell to the floor instantly, almost collapsing on top of her.

"Get Dumbledore," he whispered.

"That's not an option any more," she whispered back, "Can you walk?"

"No," he told her.

"You need to try," she told him, "I'm going to distract him, you need to run."

"I can't. Leave me."

"That's not an option either," she whispered harshly. She could feel tears trickling down her cheeks against her will as she tried to make him more comfortable in her arms but nothing she seemed to do worked.

"You need to go," he whispered, "There's no hope for me now, no matter what you do."

He was starting to go cold, what little colour that was left was already draining from his face and she could tell that he was slipping away.

"For once in your life don't argue with me!" She screamed at him as his eyes began to close. "Don't you dare die on me!"

She slapped him to try and bring him back, hit him repeatedly to get him to look at her but there was no hope for it. His eyes closed and she felt his heart grow still in his chest. His final breath left his body and by that point she was screaming at him to come back. All the while, Tom stood behind her, his face back to normal, silently smirking and watching the scene before him play out. Eventually Hermione gave up trying to bring him back and simply sat with him in her arms.

Suddenly, he began to feel lighter. As she looked down at him through her tears, for some reason she could not explain, she saw that his skin was becoming even more pale. Then it was transparent, almost as though he were fading away. Instead, his skin turned coarse and grainy. Then little by little it transformed into sand and Hermione was left with nothing but a beach in her lap and an ocean in her eyes. She stared down at what should have been Severus in confusion until a soft hand grazed her cheek.

"It was just a spell," Tom whispered to her, "Just a silly spell."

She continued to sniff and stare at the pile of sand before the realization finally hit her.

"That wasn't-?"

"No."

"And Lucius wasn't-"

"No, Lucius was really here," Tom told her with a bit of a sigh, "He needed to be taught a bit of a lesson. I didn't see the point in torturing dear Leopold though."

Slowly the cogs inside her head were beginning to turn through the thick fog of grief and shock. She should have realized that a single bout of Cruciatus wouldn't have been enough to kill Severus. She should have known that Tom would have been watching her room all night last night to see if she came home alone if not at all. She should have seen it coming. Tom directed her attention to the chair that the fake Severus had been sitting on and upon it was a symbol. It was an eye in the middle of a pentagram, something that she had only ever seen once before…

"The Evil Eye Illusion," she whispered.

A hand then delved inside his cloak where he pulled out a very small book and, using her wand of course, resized it so that she could see the title.

"It's so good to know that you stashed _The Magick of the Shadow_ in a place where I could get to it," he told her, "Even better to know that you didn't try to mislead me when you were teaching me its secrets all those years ago. I was afraid that you might have intentionally given me the wrong information."

Slowly but surely rage began to bubble inside her, mixed with relief and fear. He had deceived her…but Severus wasn't dead…and he had the book…It was safe to say that she was rather conflicted at the time but eventually her anger won out. She stood from the floor and shoved him as hard as she could. He stumbled a little from shock but recovered quickly and when she came for him again threw her back onto the couch. She tried to tackle him and wrestle her wand away from his grasp but he simply backed her up into a wall and held her there.

"Calm yourself," he told her, his face as blank as ever, "The real Leopold is safe and sound, teaching his first lessons of the day."

"I will _never_ forgive you for this!" She screamed at him, "Never!"

"On the contrary," he whispered, "You already have. You're angry at yourself, not me."

"I hate you!" She roared.

His mask finally broke.

"No you don't," he told her, "And that's why it hurts so much. I could be cruel to you in so many ways and you would hit me, you would curse me, you would probably attempt to kill me if I went after Leopold for real…but you would never stop-"

"Don't you dare say it," she hissed, "I do not and never have-"

"You do," he smirked at her, "You always have. Ever since the moment our lips first touched you have. The only reason you deny it is because you're afraid of it."

"It's a weakness to you," she spat at him, "Why would you even want me to-"

"Because it's not my weakness is it?" He whispered. "It's yours."

His face was getting closer, his breath was hot on her skin and she knew exactly what was going to happen next, regardless of what she wanted. He pressed himself closer to her, slipping his hands from her shoulders to her waist, just slowly enough so that she could keep up with what he was doing. He wanted her to know that she had no choice in the matter, that the damage was already done and there was nothing she could do about it. That it was all her own fault and not his. He didn't force her to- she couldn't even think it. Because it wasn't true. She didn't and she never would. It was so wrong and yet, the way his fingers glided along the back of her dress felt ever so right. The tension that had been building between them for months when he came to visit suddenly reached its boiling point and she realized that he wasn't going to wait for her anymore, no matter how much she wanted to deny him.

"Feel my touch, Hermione," he told her as his hands wondered to less respectable places, "Don't run from me. Unlike the fools on the other side of this wall, I have no intention of breaking your heart."

If it weren't for the fact that her brain was so foggy she would have pondered on the irony of that statement. As it was she was too preoccupied with his lips, with his hands, with getting rid of his robes. She bit him several times when he tried to kiss her at first but eventually her anger gave way to her lust. It was far from gentle for either of them. When they were finally done and thoroughly satisfied, he gathered his robes and handed her some fresh clothes. As he went to dress she could see her scratches on his back and several bite marks on his shoulders. When she went to sit on the bed to put on a pair of jeans she could tell that it was going to be difficult sitting on the potions stools when she finally made it down to the dungeons and she would have to wear long skirts and pants for a while to disguise the bruises on her thighs. Other than that, neither of them had any complaints.

"Make sure you're free two weeks from now," he told her as he stood before the fireplace, preparing to leave her again.

"Why?" She asked him.

"Have you forgotten our deal?" He asked her, "You owe me a night of conversation."

Eileen's face suddenly appeared in her mind's eye and the first bubble of guilt for what she had just done began to surface. She pushed it aside though. It wouldn't do her any good to feel guilty for something that was in the past. If only the damn mark on her arm would stop sending pulses through her body she could live with it.

"Fine," she told him, "I'll be free. How long will we be away from the castle for?"

"Why?" He asked her.

"I need a cover story don't I?" She told him, "I can't exactly waltz up to Leopold and say 'oh by the way, I'm going out with Voldemort tonight. See you later!'"

"I'm sure you will come up with something," he smirked at her, wrapping his arms around her one last time and pulling her to him. Hermione could feel herself involuntarily relax at the contact. She still wanted him to pay for what he had done but she knew he was right about at least one thing. She didn't hate him. If he had really killed Severus then she would have hated him until the end of time. But it was hard not to separate the Voldemort of her time, who would not have hesitated to kill Severus at all, and the Tom of this time who had been smarter and gone a different route to achieve the same goal. He knew she hadn't slept with anyone else, he had finally managed to get her back into his bed and he had her back on edge awaiting their next meeting. There was no way to describe it, but she couldn't help but feel that this was a different man to the one she had encountered in her years at Hogwarts as a student. There was a different feel to him, a different air as he walked into the room. He was still callous and cold, he had proven that today, but he had more…restraint.

It became very clear to her as she left for the dungeons, that she needed to do some serious soul searching over the next two weeks.


	14. Apologies and Mistakes

**Hello Lovely Readers!**

**I'm sorry I took so long. Real life has this lovely habbit of ganging up on me at inopportune moments. It's taken me a good four months to sort it and with the hours that I'm working the weekends are really the only time I have to write anymore so I'm sorry but it's going to take a while for the next chapter to be up as well. Tiredness = bad for inspiration.**

**But until that time I hope this chapter will suffice.**

**As always, R&R and Happy reading!**

**~VTM**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Apologies and Mistakes

She made her way down to the dungeons after her…encounter with the Dark Lord, with great difficulty. It didn't escape young Severus that she was late, nor did he turn a blind eye to the fact that the potions stools seemed far more uncomfortable for her than usual. Being the smart boy he was however, he said nothing about it. When she came and sat next to him he simply raised an eyebrow at her, just enough to let her know he knew something was amiss, but not enough to tick her off and start an argument between the two of them.

"So where is this concoction of yours?" She asked him, shifting a little on her stool again.

He pulled out a tiny blue vial from his pocket.

"It worked perfectly," he told her, "When Slughorn gets here I'll place it in my cauldron first and that way he won't notice a thing."

"I still say there's another way around this," she told him with a scowl on her face, "You know the rules, we can't use anything illegal."

"Some rules are made to be broken," he told her plainly. She shook her head at him but with what happened only half an hour beforehand in her rooms, she wasn't exactly in a position to judge. They sat there and waited for several minutes before Slughorn and Eileen finally arrived, along with two extras that they had not planned on. Cygnus walked in, hand in hand with Eileen and Severus "Leopold" joined them not long after.

"As you can see we have a few extra observers today," Slughorn smiled.

"Professor Evans was curious with your progress," Eileen told them, "And Mr Black is still here visiting me for the moment so he thought he would come along."

"I've heard good things about you in particular, Severus," Cygnus stepped up, "Especially from Professor Slughorn and Professor Evans. Perhaps after the brewing today you and I should talk about what you'll do after Hogwarts?"

Severus for his part, looked a little bit stunned at Cygnus' suggestion but seemed to take it as his mother pulling strings and simply nodded in ascent after sending her a sharp look. If he had known the Black patriarch as well as either his mother or his potions partner then he would not have been so shocked to know that the man's offer was indeed genuine. Leopold looked sharply between the young man and the older and then at Hermione for good measure, but said nothing. Apparently he hadn't gotten over the events of the night before and wouldn't any time soon. For some reason it stirred anger inside her gut. She felt like he blamed her for the changes to his past, present and future, even though the blame was misplaced.

"Well," Slughorn cut in, "Why don't we get started then, hm? For this first brewing, seeing as this is still the experimentation stage, you are allowed any kind of assistance you require. If there are techniques that you are not strong with, you may ask us to help you with it, or if you have questions then you are free to ask at any point during the period. For the second brewing, which will take place after the holidays, you will only be allowed to ask questions and for the third and final brewing you will have no assistance at all so I suggest you take advantage of this. You have twenty minutes to gather and prepare your ingredients and for the rest of the period you will continue on with your potions. Good luck, your time starts now!"

The two of them raced off to the storage cupboard to grab what they needed, each filing out a little slower when they had gone in. Hermione had decidedly more supplies than Severus but his ingredients were far more complex and harder to maintain during the brewing process. She couldn't help but stare at the little blue vial inside his robe as he went past her to go and grab a pint of dragon's blood that he had forgotten.

During her twenty minutes of preparation time she pulled out a few of the library books she had borrowed to see what she needed to do to a few of the more complex ingredients that she had attained. At one point she got stuck and asked Eileen to help her but Leopold asked if he could step in instead. The young Severus looked at her sideways for a moment, as if asking her if he should step in, but she gave no sign of protest and the older version sat by her side.

"Where are you stuck?" he asked her tersely.

"The Sopophorous beans," she said to him, "No matter how hard I try, I can't get it to release the amount of juice I want."

Leopold stared down at the shriveled up prunes for a short while before reaching over and taking young Severus' silver knife.

"Use this," he told her, "Crush them, don't slice them. Otherwise the desk will get the juice and you'll be left with rain drops instead of the river you require."

She gave him a quick nod and did as he had said, first expecting him to go away and rejoin the group but he stayed by her side until she had crushed them all, making sure she had done it correctly and then he said something that she did not expect.

"I apologise," he said quietly enough so that only she could hear, "Cygnus told me everything, after Eileen explained who I was. I should not have acted so…rashly."

She sat there, stunned for a few moments before she realized that the others were watching them and continued on with her work.

"He doesn't know what we know," he continued on, "About the fate of his daughter and I suggest we keep it that way or else a certain Slytherin might not be born. Can you agree to that?"

It went against every fibre of her being but she gave him a brief nod and allowed him to walk back to his mother's side. She continued to attempt to keep her mind on her potion but occasionally it would wander to her troubles with, not only Tom, but with all those who were present in the room. She wanted to warn Cygnus so badly but knew that she couldn't. She wanted to take Eileen away from the castle and hide her somewhere safe but she knew it wasn't possible. She wanted to tell her older Severus everything that had been going on but she knew it would only make things worse. As she poured powders, juices and diced plants into her cauldron it became increasingly clear that, even though she was surrounded by those who cared for her, she was alone. Tom had effectively isolated her. Whether it had been his intention, she was unsure of, but she knew he had to do something about it.

Halfway through the brewing, her potion was beginning to turn a nice lilac colour and things seemed to be going her way. She glanced over at young Severus for a few moments and saw that his had turned the same bright blue as his vial had been only an hour beforehand. The concentrated scowl on his face was an indicator that he hadn't expected this to happen but it wasn't something that had thrown him off course. He had pulled out a few more of his books at this point, as it simmered away on a low heat, and was skimming through them to see where he may have gone wrong and if he could reverse it. Hermione began stirring hers every ten minutes to maintain the consistency and upon the third stir Eileen came over to take a look at how she was going.

"Ideally with a potion that is meant to heal you would want it to be pink during this stage of brewing and a potion that is made with the intention to be used on certain types of metals you would want it to be a bright blue," she informed her, taking a sniff as well, "So it seems you have those two aspects under control. I'm not quite sure about everything else though. You see the rings the smoke is making? That's associated with the corrosive elements in salamander blood. You might want to get that under control before you attempt to test it."

Hermione gave her a nod and then watched as she moved over to her son. She seemed to frown down at it for a few moments before looking back up at him.

"What was the exact function you were hoping to get with this?" She asked him.

"It's hard to explain," he told her, "The way I imagine it, is that when you take it you experience a sort of…hallucinogenic epiphany. It's a way of figuring out a problem or making a decision without going to anyone else for help. The hallucination itself takes after real life. For example, if I wanted to choose my career path, I would take this and then I would hallucinate talking to Professor Slughorn about the logic of the decision and maybe then I would talk to you about what I really want to do and then someone else about what I probably _should_ do but don't want to…the list goes on. The bigger the decision, the longer the hallucination."

Eileen looked down at the potion again with a slight scowl on her face before looking back at Severus.

"And I thought Miss Evan's potion was a stretch," she muttered.

"You've raised a more ambitious version of you, Eileen," Cygnus smirked

She smiled back at him and then looked down at the potion once more.

"The only advice I can really give to you is to personalise it," she said, "It seems you've thrown a lot of thought into what is supposed to happen and you have it clear inside your head how it will work. The only problem is that it has to adapt to every person you give it to. I suggest you take some blood from the person you test it on and put it into the potion once it's done. Give it a bit of time to settle so that it can adapt and become accustomed to the person ingesting it."

Severus seemed deep in thought for a moment but then he nodded. That was when Hermione came up with a question of her own.

"How are we testing the potions?" She asked.

"Well, Hermione, yours is relatively straight forward," Eileen told her, "We have several broken objects around the classroom that need repairing so you can use those to test out each aspect of your potion individually. Severus however, is a little more difficult."

"Yes, I'm afraid we haven't really thought this out right," Slughorn stepped up, "Severus' potion requires a human test subject and because of this there is no way to really control the test and make it safe beyond measure. We can't ask anyone to take an untested potion that hasn't been approved by the Alchemist and Potioneers Association."

At this Severus scowled down at the vibrant blue liquid inside his cauldron. Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had worked so hard and risked a lot to make sure that it was right and now he wouldn't know if his creation even worked. She offered him a glance of sympathy to which he simply shrugged and they got on with their final minutes of brewing. Within half an hour both had managed to finish what they had started and Hermione was almost vibrating with excitement. She kept it hidden as much as she could though, for Severus' sake. He stood there by his potion, quietly brooding and looking anywhere but in her direction and she could just feel the resentment rolling off of him. As Slughorn, Eileen, Cygnus and Leopold crowded around her potion and were distracted by grading and observing, she slinked over to him and gave him a nudge.

"Do you still have the vial?" She whispered. He looked at her strangely for a moment.

"What vial?" He asked her.

"The one your illegal substance concoction was in," she muttered back. His brow creased but he pulled out the empty vial none the less. Hermione then swooped it out of his grasp, and while the others were still distracted, she filled it with Severus' potion, right up to the brim. She then handed it back to him and he looked at her in shock.

"Meet me in the Room of Requirement later tonight," she told him with a slight smile.

"Are you mad?" he whispered harshly.

"You're the one who said that some rules are made to be broken," she shot back at him, "And you went to so much trouble to get the right ingredients and perfect the recipe. I want to see how it turns out."

Before he could object any further, the potions laboratory door was opened to reveal a rather irate looking Sirius Black. Everyone looked at him and it seemed to irritate him further as he strode into the room and handed Professor Slughorn a note. Slughorn's eyes scanned over it quickly before he turned to look at Hermione.

"Miss Evans, you have a visitor upstairs," he told her with a quizzical look, "Mr Black has been asked to escort you."

She suddenly felt the heat of all the eyes in the room radiating off of her skin. Eileen and Cygnus looked just as confused as Slughorn where as both versions of Severus looked suspicious. Black, however, was just downright livid. He strode forward, grabbed a hold of her wrist and made to walk out of the classroom but he was stopped when young Severus grabbed a hold of him by the shoulder. They each glared at one another, their grips unrelenting and Hermione couldn't help but feel a wave of warmth toward her dark haired defender. As she looked around she realised that Eileen was smiling.

"I think what my son is trying to say is that, that is no way to treat a lady," she said. She was clearly proud of him in that moment, proud that her son was willing to defend someone he cared for, even if it was entirely out of character.

Black looked uneasy for a few moments as he realised now that he was in a room full of people that cared for both Severus and Hermione. He had to choose very wisely what he did next and it was for that reason that he let go of her wrist.

"Perhaps it would be best if Snape escorted her," Cygnus suggested quietly to his nephew, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "Come, you and I haven't caught up in a while."

Cygnus walked him out the door and Severus took a hold of Hermione's hand. The two couples left in opposite directions, one quietly slinking off upstairs to see a surprise visitor and the other protesting loudly. As they made their way to the Entrance Hall, Severus and Hermione picked up their conversation where they had been forced to leave it.

"How are we going to test it?" He asked her, "There's no way we can do it safely, you heard Slughorn-"

Hermione suddenly stopped walking and turned to face him, taking both of his hands in her own.

"Severus, do you trust me?" She asked him quietly. Not to her surprise, he seemed to think about it for a few moments. It was hard to guess what was running through his mind as they stood there. Only fleeting glances of expressions ran over his palled features, but in the end calm resignation won out.

"Yes," he finally told her, "Against my better judgement, I do."

"Then don't ask any more questions, stop worrying and just meet me at the Room of Requirement at eight o'clock," she told him firmly, "Have a little faith."

He didn't like the idea of putting faith in anyone but himself, she could tell. For so long he had survived alone, relying upon no one and not letting anyone give him a break. Only his mother really knew what was inside his heart and even then it was a shallow vision of the boy she had raised. The very notion that someone else could gain even a glimpse of him was frightening.

Her grip upon his hands tightened for a few moments before she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. Then she uttered a few simple words that had been said to her earlier that day.

"You can trust me Severus," she told him, "Unlike the fools on the other side of this wall, I have no intention of breaking your heart."

It took a few moments, but not too long, for him to relax into her embrace and even reciprocate. In the few months that she had spent in this time, Hermione had never felt as safe as she did then. She was with someone who truly cared for her, not for her forbidden knowledge or untapped power. She had meant what she said to him that morning, he was the only one she trusted. They stayed like that for a while before Severus pulled back and took her hand and led her up to the Entrance Hall as they had first intended. When they arrived to see Hermione's surprise visitor however, it turned out to be someone that neither of them expected to see. At the sight of him, Hermione immediately turned towards Severus and ushered him back down the stairs.

"What are you doing?" He asked her irately, trying to swat her hands out the way.

"Go back to the classroom," she told him, "Tell the others that it was…I don't know, just tell them someone. I'll be back soon."

"Why can't I tell them that it's-"

"Because you can't!" she snapped and instantly regretted it, "Look, I'll explain later, but I need to see him alone. Ok?"

Severus eyed her with suspicion for the longest time, but with the promise that she would tell him later, he did as she asked. She stayed at the top of the stairs for a while to make sure that he had indeed gone before turning back to her guest. She walked over to him and shook his hand before any words were exchanged and lead him to the currently empty Great Hall. They took seats at the end of the Gryffindor table and it was then that he produced a silver pouch.

"Did you manage to fix it, Ollivander?" She asked him as she stared down at the pouch.

"The outer wand was easily repairable," he told her, "It took a little time but it is done."

She frowned at his words and opened the bag. It looked almost as though it had been made from fresh. The scratches and finger marks were gone and there was no sign that it had ever seen a battle. But as she picked it up she realised it was lighter and when she tapped it lightly against the edge of the table it became quite obvious that it was hollow.

"The core could not be saved," he told her gravely.

A wave of panic began to wash over her but she quickly swallowed it and forced her brain to work. She couldn't afford to freak out now, she couldn't afford to give in to her fears and just sit there helplessly. She needed a solution, she needed answers, but seeing as she didn't have them she decided to ask questions.

"It was too damaged?" She asked him.

He nodded.

"The magical essence of the feather had been destroyed," he told her, "I could have placed it back inside the wand but it would have made it as useless as scales on a hippogriff."

"So the wand itself could still be usable?" She asked.

He nodded again.

"It won't be able to function with another type of core," he explained, "However, if you were to retrieve another phoenix feather…"

She sat there and thought about it for a while. There was only one phoenix that she would be capable of getting a feather from and it would require a lot of secrecy and sneakiness on her part. She would have to get past one of the greatest wizards of all time and somehow persuade the bird to give it up. However, there was the bonus that the Fawkes was the same phoenix the original feathers had come from. If she managed to pull this off then she would have a definite chance of making sure things turned out as they were supposed to when Harry met Voldemort at the graveyard and again at the Ministry. For that reason alone, she had to at least try…

~O~

Many hours later, Severus Snape sat within the Room of Requirement, awaiting the return of his one and only companion. The room itself had rematerialized into the same room they had slept in the night before, the bed still unmade, the furniture in disarray and he could have sworn he spotted his missing sock beneath the coffee table in the centre. The clock at the back of the room showed that he had been waiting for at least an hour for her to show and he had to wonder what was keeping her. She had never been a tardy person, nor forgetful, and so whatever was keeping her had to be important.

He took a seat upon the bed they had shared and stared down at its rumpled covers. Despite the outward image he projected, and that the Marauders had forced upon him, he wasn't nearly the virgin oddball that he appeared to be. Yes, he was in love with another, but that didn't stop him from indulging in the occasional tryst when the opportunity presented itself. He was a Slytherin after all. But no night had ever been as peaceful as it had been with Hermione. Although the roles had been reversed and she was the one who had needed him more than anything else, he still couldn't help but draw comfort and warmth from her presence. Aside from his mother and…he dared not think her name, Hermione had been the only woman he had ever been allowed to simply hold and talk to until the sun came up.

It was for that reason he continued to wait for another two hours before she finally turned up. He was more than surprised by her rumpled hair, black eye and burn marks upon her fingers and hands and he knew better to ask about it but he just couldn't help himself. He raised a raven eyebrow in her direction and fixed her with one of his patented icy gazes.

"You're late." He said.

She took one look at the clock on the wall and then gazed back at him with tired eyes. Yet somehow she managed a smile. She actually seemed quite happy despite her bumps and bruises as she walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"Sorry, Severus," she told him, "I lost track of time. Have you got the vial with you?"

"Why are you so pleased with yourself?" He asked her, "You look like you've been in the middle of a hippogriff stampede and you're smiling like you've won the House Cup."

Her smile simply widened as she stepped back from him and sat on the bed, gesturing for him to join her, which he did without hesitation.

"I've just had a very good afternoon, that's all," she told him.

His eyes narrowed upon her.

"Who is he?" He asked

"Excuse me?"

"The only time I ever see a girl in as good of a mood as you are is when she has a new boyfriend or she's just dumped the old one. So who is he?"

To his utter shock she burst out laughing. Something he said threw her into an absolute fit of giggles and mayhem and he couldn't figure out for the life of him what it was. She certainly was acting strange that night and yet he couldn't help but be gladder for it. She was laughing and smiling more than he had ever seen her before. He never thought someone else's joy could make him happy and yet somehow she managed it.

When she finally calmed down she looked at him with a certain glee in her eye that made him want to smile along with her. Somehow he managed to contain it and force his lips to stay in his usual thin line.

"Are you forgetting Severus, that half the castle thinks that _you_ and _I_ are actually together?" She asked him, still giggling slightly.

That made him smirk. She then wrapped her arms around him once more and pressed her nose to his, still smiling like a mad woman.

"If I were to take up with someone else, I would certainly inform you that I was leaving you first. I'm not the cheating type," she laughed.

"And just who would you leave me for Miss Evans?" He asked her, still smirking, "You don't have much to choose from."

She giggled again.

"I could always go for that Ravenclaw girl that asked me to Slughorn's party," she told him, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking me on."

"I can just imagine the gossip," he quipped.

Hermione burst into laughter again. This time Severus permitted himself a tiny chuckle along with her. All thoughts of explanations and bruises had flown out of his mind for the time being and he was more than content to laugh with her for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, his companion had other things on her mind. As she finished her last bout of giggles she turned to him and repeated her earlier question.

"Do you have the vial with you?"

He pulled it out of his pocket this time without hesitation and handed it over to her. Her delicate fingers uncorked it and she turned back to him once more, holding her hand out to him.

"Mind doing it for me?" She asked.

He hesitated.

"I don't think you should take it," he told her, "I'm the only one who knows how it's supposed to turn out, how it's supposed to work-"

"And what am I supposed to do if it goes wrong?" She asked him, "I don't know what ingredients you used, I don't know what methods you looked at or what research you did. At least if it doesn't turn out right on me you'll have the knowledge there to pull me out."

He thought about it for a few moments too long for her liking and she waved her hand in his face again.

"Come on Severus, you know I'm right and seeing as I was late, we don't have all night anymore," she told him, "Slice me open already."

With a sigh he pulled out his wand and aimed it at one of her fingers. Silently, he cast a small slicing hex and small droplets of blood rushed to the surface. She moved it quickly over the vial and watched as the potion went from bright blue to a pale grey the second her blood mixed with its contents. Her eyes remained fixed upon it and Severus too seemed mesmerised by it.

"Well," she said, smiling up at him once more, "Here goes nothing."

She swallowed it all in one go and Severus expected her to simply doze off into sleep. He had made the potion perfectly after all, gone through everything thoroughly and made sure nothing could go wrong. But when he saw the smile slip off her face he knew something was wrong. She dropped the vial and it shattered on the floor before she followed it, the broken glass piercing the palm of the hand it had once resided in.

The last thing she saw was Severus' black hair clinging to his anguished face and hearing him scream her name before she finally gave in and slipped into unconsciousness….


	15. Truth and Denial

Chapter Fifteen: Truth and Denial

It was an odd feeling at first. The tingling sensation shot through her arms and hands and she knew that she was dreaming. However as she opened her eyes she knew that she wouldn't remember it as such. It would remain in her mind as a second reality simply because her senses were on fire. She could smell the burning wood, feel the soft carpet, see the red and gold tapestries, hear the pounding rain against the high window and almost taste the smouldering air. Everything felt, sounded and looked so real as she opened her eyes to see her own memory of the Gryffindor common room.

Everything was exactly as she had left it just over a year ago, before her nightmare had begun. It amazed her that her memory of the place was still so powerful. Slowly, she stood and dusted some ash from her old school robes. She crinkled her nose in confusion for a few moments at the sight of the pleated skirt and black jumper. She definitely hadn't come in wearing these. Then something came to mind. The point of the potion was to help her make a decision, so…why was she the only one there?

"Hello?" She called but there was no reply. Severus had told her that she was supposed to have a few guides of sorts, different sections of her consciousness represented in people she knew but she appeared to be thoroughly on her own.

The roar of the fire suddenly caught her attention. It hissed at her, begging her to step forward and peer into its golden depths. Her worries suddenly subsided as she was captivated by the dancing flames.

~O~

The pain was phenomenal. Never in his entire life had he felt such excruciating, exquisite torture. There were thousands of knives on the inside of his skin, nudging at his muscles and nerves and then slowly gliding their sharp edges along his skin. It was slow, it was pain in its purest form but mostly…it was all her fault.

He could feel it inside his mind. He was taking the punishment for something that she had done, making him pay for his earlier visit. He clawed his way up the wall, his snake like mask thankfully still in place as Lucius Malfoy cowered in a nearby corner. Her curse had taken hold just as he had finished with the blond buffoon. As the knives continued to probe at his organs and lash at his senses he beckoned Malfoy forward. The boy slowly walked towards him and regretted it the moment he felt his master's spindly hands wrap around his delicate neck.

"If you wish to redeem yourself," he hissed, "Bring me Hermione Evans so that I can tear her limb from limb."

He didn't need telling twice. As soon as The Dark Lord threw him to the floor he scampered out of the meeting chamber and into the nearest fireplace to Hogwarts. Tom then collapsed against the wall and his mask finally fell. His glowing red eyes had dulled somewhat with the pain and his hair was soaked with sweat. If Malfoy didn't bring her to him before he passed out from the pain he was going to murder him. Malfoy line be damned!

~O~

Severus knelt down beside her the moment she fell and healed her bleeding palm before it could make a mess on the carpet. For mere moments he had thought that the potion had worked the way it should but when he touched her skin and felt it to be icy cold he knew that something had gone wrong. If it weren't for the fact that she was close to death from a curse he had already inflicted he would have lit her robes on fire for being so idiotic! Did she have a death wish? Was that it? Then why couldn't she have knocked herself off some other way that didn't involve him taking the blame!

"This is all your fault Evans," he hissed at her as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Even as he let the words escape his lips he regretted them. Though she wasn't conscious to hear them he couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal at allowing them to be audible. It wasn't entirely her fault. He had made the potion, allowed her to drink it without it being tested, known that it was volatile and mentioned nothing. It was all his fault that his only friend was going to die a slow and torturous death at the hands of a nightmare that he had created.

Before panic or despair could take hold he focused and tried to figure out where the potion could have gone wrong. He had made it perfectly, just as he had thought it should be done and had made sure that no ingredients would conflict with one another. Sure, when they had added the blood they hadn't allowed it to simmer and set for the half hour that his mother had recommended but all that did was connect with her magic. It couldn't be the reason she was now in a coma. Perhaps she had taken something before coming here? A headache solution, Pepper-up Potion, or some other remedy to a common ailment? Any one of them would conflict with the Magic Mushrooms he had used to produce the hallucinations within her mind, any one of them could be the cause for her torture.

As he sat down beside her it occurred to him that unless he could wake her up and save her he would never know. He needed help, he needed someone to tell him what to do, how to fix it but he knew that he couldn't trust anyone now. Professor Slughorn would most likely report him to Dumbledore who would surely expel them both. Professor Evans would probably avada him on the spot and then Hermione out of sheer anger and as he thought about it he realised his mother would probably do the same thing.

_I need someone who isn't going to punish us for our mistakes, I need to find someone who will save her without question, I need someone who will keep our secret safe._

Immediately he felt the ground beneath him shake and the carpet on the opposite side of the room suddenly peeled back. A door emerged from beneath him, simply carved with a golden handle, and attached itself to the wall. Severus was sceptical at first but he had heard tales of the Room of Requirement from other students around the school and knew that it planned to give him what he needed. He marched over to the new object and opened it, only to be tackled by a pale, blond intruder.

~O~

The thunder seemed to pick up as she moved closer and closer towards the fireplace, as if protesting, screaming that she was going the wrong way. She screamed and dove to the floor when it shattered the high window and glass came raining down upon her. Fork lightning danced over the ceiling but never left a mark to spare. She caught herself gazing at it in wonder for several minutes before she got up again. The fireplace let out another mighty roar for her attention and she was certain that she needed to go to it but the outside called to her just as strongly. It was beautiful and exotic and enticing, she couldn't help but stare in wonder and that was when she furrowed her brow.

"What kind of screwed up dream is this?" She asked herself aloud.

The thunder cracked at her again and she moved over to one of the lower windows to take a look at the storm outside. She counted seven twisters, each spinning on the spot, some clashing with others. There was one in the Quidditch Pitch, another on the lake, two in the Forbidden Forrest, one just on top of the Astronomy Tower and the other two sitting on either side of Hagrid's hut. The ones in pairs would occasionally crash into one another but the rest of them stayed still and silent. The one of the lake in particular stood out to her, solitary and confined.

As the thunder gave a particularly loud boom and the fire seemed to rise out of the grate, Hermione knew she had to leave this portion of her mind, whatever portion it was, before it consumed her. Destructive elements were everywhere in a place she had once felt safe and she now knew that this was not where she was meant to be. She ran across the room and attempted to open the portrait door but it was sealed shut somehow. She tried hitting it, kicking it, slamming odd bits of furniture against it but nothing seemed to make it budge. She then tried to reach for her wand but it was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly the tower itself began to shake and she fell to the floor again, completely unable to keep herself steady against the quaking carpet…

~O~

"Wake up Evans! Wake up!"

"Stop it Malfoy! You'll kill her!"

"Then wake her up!"

"I can't!"

After Severus had told him what had happened Malfoy had done nothing but panic and wouldn't tell him why. He had never seen his friend this way. In all the years that he had known him, since the day that Lucius had taken him under his wing, he had been nothing but calm and collected, just as every Slytherin should be. Now he was acting like an irrational Hufflepuff, almost hyperventilating at the prospect that Hermione Evans could not wake up.

"You created the damn potion!" Lucius roared at him, "You should have created an antidote! You should have tested it first! You should have-"

"I know!" Severus roared back and then sighed, trying to calm himself, "I didn't want her to take it but…She can be rather persuasive. Lucius just tell me what's going on and we will deal with it, we'll find a way out of it."

"There is no way," the blond's voice was shaking now, "You have no idea what you've done, Severus. I can't protect either of you now."

"Lucius what are you talking about?"

"I've been ordered to take her, Severus," he told him, "The Dark Lord is in pain and he thinks that it's her fault. I can't return without her or it'll be my life."

"Ridiculous!" Snape protested, "What could possibly make him think it's her fault? She's been here the entire time!"

"How did she get these bruises?" Lucius asked him, peering down at the girl's face again.

"I don't know," Snape snapped at him, "I'm not her babysitter."

"Then how do you know she's been at the castle the entire time?" Lucius asked him, "You've got no idea what she's been up to, no idea where she's been and instead of saving your own backside you're attempting very badly to look after hers! What's gotten into you? Have I taught you nothing?"

"Says the one who lost his composure the moment he entered the room," Severus sneered, "You can sit here and reprimand me all you like for wanting to protect her, Lucius but you and I both know that you're not just here for yourself. I know how he works and he won't just stop at you for punishment. He'll go after your father, your mother, probably Narcissa first just for good measure and you know it too!"

Lucius was staring at him oddly now, his eyes narrowed and his brow creased in confusion.

"Severus," he said quietly, "You're not in love with her are you?"

Severus looked at him completely dumbfounded for a few seconds before the rage took over.

"Why is that the first thing you always think whenever I hang around a woman longer than thirty seconds?!" He roared.

"You've never been around a woman longer than thirty seconds."

"I'm quite capable of having a female friend without sex being involved!"

"Well you can't have sex with this one anyway!" Lucius told him earnestly.

"Even if I wanted to, why couldn't I?" Severus sneered, "Is it you think I'm not good enough for her?"

"It's not that Severus," Lucius shook his head, "You really don't know, do you? She hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?" He asked.

"Come over here," Lucius sighed. He really didn't want to be the one to have to break it to him and all his Slytherin cunning was screaming at him that this was a bad idea but none the less he beckoned the young man over. When Severus was level with him he pulled up the girl's sleeve and pulled down the bandage. The glowing mark glared up at them both as if to say that it knew something they didn't. Severus swallowed as his dark eyes roamed over it and he breathed a little deeper to try and keep himself calm.

"How did you-"

"I didn't know for sure," Lucius shook his head, "But when the Dark Lord tortured me inside her rooms this morning I had a feeling."

"Tortured you?" Severus asked, "In _her_ rooms?"

"She helped me make progress with Narcissa," he admitted, a small blush creeping about his cheeks, "I sent her some roses as a thank you and the Dark Lord was displeased by it. If I did not know him better I would say that he wanted her but in the years of service that I have given him he has never taken a woman into his bed, not even Cissy's sister, Bellatrix and she's gagging for it."

"She's being courted by Lestrange isn't she?" Severus asked.

"Her father doesn't know," Lucius told him, "Nor does he know that his daughter will be marked this coming fortnight and I'm hoping he won't be told until after Cissy and I are married."

"You love her that much?" Severus asked quietly.

"I do," Lucius nodded, "Though I'll wait awhile before I make it known. Her father would have a fit."

They both stared back down at the woman who had made it all possible and Severus sighed. For whatever reason she had lied it didn't matter for the moment. Yes he was angry at her and probably would be for some time but he would have to set that aside if he wanted her to wake up. Then he could yell at her all he liked.

"So what are we going to do with her then?" He asked the blond.

"I have to take her, Severus," he told him, "There's no way around it. I've never seen him this angry."

"There must be another way to appease him until I can revive her," he said, "There has to be some way to stall it."

"I could try but it would only make him angrier," he said, "All we could do is make it look like she hexed me horribly and said she would see him when she was ready but even then he would probably curse me himself and send me back with orders to retrieve or kill."

Severus looked down at her face again, searching it for answers. He placed one of his hands on her icy skin and he knew he was running out of time. That was when it hit him. The door had opened specifically for Lucius, just as he had been passing by the corridor. There had to be a reason for it. The room didn't have feelings, wasn't driven by pettiness or revenge so it had no reason to try and trick him into leading her to danger.

"The Dark Lord's stores," Severus looked up at Lucius with wide eyes, "His potion stores. They would be stocked with every ingredient imaginable, yes?"

"Anything he doesn't have in his private stores he always draws from ours at the Manor," Lucius told him, "Why?"

"There's a reason you fell through that door, Lucius," Severus said, his mind suddenly a light once again. He picked the girl up from the bed and looked back at his friend, "Take me to him. If he wants her, he can have her, but I need to fix her first."

Lucius stared at him for a few moments, searching his eyes for doubt but he found none.

"What are you planning?" He asked, "You never do anything without an ulterior motive."

"Just take me to him," Severus demanded, "I'll make sure you don't get caught up in it but I need to meet him."

"He won't let you go Severus," Lucius told him.

"I know."

With a final nod, the blond led him out of the room and disillusioned all three to avoid suspicion from passers-by. They moved quickly and quietly across the hall and down a few flights of steps to Hermione's and Professor Evans' rooms. Severus automatically grabbed Lucius by the shoulder and swung him around.

"You're supposed to be taking me to the Dark Lord!" He hissed at him, "Not her bloody uncle!"

"I _am_ taking you to the Dark Lord," Lucius hissed back, "How do you think I got here in the first place? Apparation? While he was still at school here the Dark Lord linked her fireplace and his with an undetected branch of the floo network and concealed it. He added another password to the door so that he could get in and out as well. Dumbledore has no idea that it exists."

Severus was astounded. Why would Voldemort make himself a way in and out of the castle so young? There was no way he would be plotting his campaign against muggleborns so early! It just didn't make sense!

Lucius whispered a password that Severus couldn't catch and the door swung open for them. Thankfully Leopold Evans was occupied with a staff meeting that night and so it made it easier for them to cross the room, grab some floo powder and step into the emerald green flames before they overstayed their welcome. Severus held onto Hermione tightly as they passed grate after grate and just barely managed to get out when Lucius did. He didn't know what he had expected the Dark Lord's hide out to be but it certainly hadn't been this. The place was a run down hobble compared to his home and that was saying something. The curtains were tattered and moth eaten, the carpet was rotten in the corners of the room from leaks on the roof that let water drip into the house. The paint was peeling horribly, the wallpaper wasn't much better and there was a general air of mustiness everywhere they went.

"My father has offered the Manor many times to him but for some reason he wants to stay here," Lucius spoke up, "Come on. I'll take you to him."

They walked out of the parlour they had landed in and moved into a dark hallway. The eerie silence was enough to put a chill up Severus' spine. Lucius led him to the last room on the left and that was when they came face to face with the Dark Lord for the first time. His gleaming red eyes were far more vivid than Severus had imagined, the pale pallor of his skin almost translucent against the lamp light. He could almost see the sweat gleaming off of his bald head as his spidery fingers clutched at his gut.

When he saw the three of them he was far from happy, though not in the way that they had expected. His eyes flared at the sight of Hermione unconscious in Severus' arms and he instantly stood from his seat.

"Severus Snape," he almost growled, "What have you done?"

Severus was taken aback.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I will only ask once more, Snape," he hissed at him, "Do not test my patience tonight."

Severus swallowed but said nothing.

"Put her down on the couch," the Dark Lord told him, "And then tell me everything."

The boy finally did as he was told. After leaving the girl on the couch he then stood before Voldemort like a veteran Death Eater and told him everything he could remember about the potion, what happened to Hermione after she drunk it and what kind of state she was in before. Voldemort's eyes seemed to wonder over the girl, as the young man spoke, in ways that made Severus uncomfortable. He'd seen other boys look at her that way but coming from a man that was twice her age and the lord of all evil just seemed wrong, especially while that man was in pain supposedly because of her.

"Tell me, Mr Snape," Voldemort finally spoke, "Do you care for her?"

He was loathe to admit it but Severus did give him a nod.

"You really are nothing like your mother," the Dark Lord told him, "She would have jumped down my throat for even asking."

Severus felt it wise to say nothing and so remained silent. Even in his weakened state Voldemort had to admire the boy's common sense and composure in the face of pure evil. He didn't try to defend his mother, he didn't try to defend Hermione, he remained as truthful as possible without giving anything away and generally knew how to act in the presence of his betters.

"You've taught him well Lucius," Voldemort told the blond, "I assume he's your work?"

"Yes my Lord," he said hurriedly, "My last two years of school were dedicated to grooming him."

"Very well," the Dark Lord nodded, "I don't suppose your mother has mentioned me, Mr Snape?"

"I know she went to school with you," he said, "I know at one point she worked for you but she dropped out of Hogwarts before you could mark her."

"So she is the gossip I thought she was then," Voldemort mumbled, "I may have to deal with that."

Severus stiffened.

"You can relax boy," Voldemort told him, "Thanks to Miss Evans here I can't do anything to your dear mother, I'll have to get creative if I want her to shut up."

Severus looked down at Hermione again with a furrowed brow. Confusion seemed to be a common theme when it came to this girl.

"Of course I could always trade your life for her silence but I'm sure dear Hermione would be just as aggravated by that as she would be by your death," Voldemort continued to muse, "So I will make you a deal. I will allow you to use my private stores and that of Abraxus Malfoy's to cure Miss Evans before she dies. By the twisting of my own intestines I give it about two and a half hours before she kicks off. In return you will owe me a favour of my choosing."

Severus thought about it for a few moments.

"But you're in pain," he finally said, "You think that if I cure her, your pain will subside, therefore I'm already doing you service. What do I get out of it?"

"She lives," Voldemort told him, "That's what you want more than anything else in this moment, isn't it? And time is ticking Mr Snape. It would be a great loss for me if she were to die but I would survive. I've gone the last twenty years of my campaign without her, I'm sure I can do another twenty."

Severus scrutinized him looking for any kind of lie in his anguished face. There was nothing he could do but accept the offer but there was one more question he had to ask before he did.

"Will you hurt her?" He asked, "If I wake her up and restore you both to health, will you punish her?"

"I haven't decided yet," Voldemort told him without pause.

Severus gave his face one more look over but finally agreed. From somewhere deep within his gut however, he felt he had made the wrong decision…

~O~

The shaking had ceased and she was breathing heavily against hearth, coughing every now and then from the ashes that floated out from the grate. Subconsciously she thought that she had spent far too much time on the ground lately and knew that she should attempt to get up but she couldn't seem to find the strength. Suddenly she felt weaker than she had ever been in her life and as her resolve and her strength depleted she saw that the fire grew weaker and weaker. She furrowed her brow at it and managed to crawl closer to see what was burning besides a few logs. Scattered around the kindling were a necklace, a teacup, a ring, a picture of a cobra, a tattered book with a black binding, a crown and a plain theatre mask. The flames licked at them all but none of them burned and slowly she could see the fire dwindle before her eyes. She was struck by a sudden panic, a need to feed the fire with everything that she had but she couldn't understand why.

That need was trumped by the growing weakness in her limbs. Suddenly she couldn't feel her legs anymore and the paralysis was climbing quickly. First her hips, then her hands and arms and then her lungs all turned to stone and she felt the chill of death touch her spine.

That was when he finally emerged from the shadows. Tears were tracked down her cheeks by the time she finally saw him and she could tell that she wasn't the only one who wept. His glasses were fogging up at the sight of her and she could tell that his scar was throbbing. It was the first time she had seen Harry Potter in just under a year and he was looking at her as though he himself had nailed her to the floor.

"I'm so sorry Hermione," he said, kneeling down and stroking her hair, "I tried to be strong for you, I really did."

"H-Harry," she gasped.

"I'm sorry I wasn't enough," he whispered.

"Get out of the bloody way Potter!"

Harry was shoved out of her vision immediately and she felt cool hands sink into her shoulders. She could barely keep her eyes open but she knew by the sound of his voice that her incarnation of Draco Malfoy was the one shaking her.

"Come on Granger, you don't want to die!" he growled, "You've fought too long and too hard! You have so much more to do! Don't you dare quit!"

At his words she suddenly felt her lungs re-inflate and life re-enter her body. She swung her arms around him and clawed at his shoulders, every inch of him exactly as she remembered. He was a welcome dream in the throngs of a glorious nightmare. He clawed back at her, buried his head in the crook of her neck and together they laid there on the floor, catching their breath and revelling in the physical comfort the other brought. In her heart of hearts she knew it was an illusion, she knew it was just her own mind and magic coming up with a solution to her growing desire to see him but in that moment she didn't care if he was real or not. He was there, that was all that mattered.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered, tears falling from her eyes again, "I'm so sorry I lost you."

He pulled back to allow her to sit up and she managed to get her back onto the wall next to the fireplace that was burning brightly once again. She could feel its warmth radiating off her skin and for some reason it brought just as much comfort to her as the sight of Draco did.

"Why did you take so long to get here?" She sniffed, "Why didn't you say something when I called out?"

"I don't have time to explain," he said, completely ignoring her question, "You need to know something before he finds us."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"He's on his way Granger, I can't protect you anymore!" he suddenly roared and shook her again, "I've tried so hard because it's what you wanted and some piece of you still hates him but the rest of you…"

"Draco stop, you're hurting me!"

"You need to listen!" He screamed and she instantly stopped fighting him to look into his eyes. They were wild and deranged with fear. It told her that something in her inner psyche was frightened but…frightened of what?

"Shhh," she cooed, moving her hand along his cheek in a soothing manner, "I'm listening. What's the matter? Who's on their way?"

"_Him_," he sobbed, "He's going to rob you of everything that you are. He'll take you away from us and fill your world!"

He grabbed her hand and yanked her up so that she was standing and then moved her in front of the fireplace. The objects in the centre still didn't burn even though the logs around them were turning to ashes before their eyes.

"Never forget," he whispered in her ear, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, "Don't forget about them. Don't forget about me."

She found herself staring into the depths of the flames for several moments before she felt the weight of his arms disappear and she swung around to find that he was gone.

"Draco?" She called.

_BANG!_

The common room door was taking a beating to try and keep her safe. Whatever was on the other side hammered and clawed at the wooden barrier and when it couldn't get what it wanted it let out an eerie growl. She had no wand, no weapon, she was still weak from…whatever it was that had taken the air out of her lungs and now she was being attacked by some kind of monster that her sub consciousness had unleashed. She instantly decided that when she got out of this she was going to give Severus a piece of advice for inventing potions in the future…

~O~

"Normally I would say that you shouldn't have been so ambitious but if corrected this potion could be a real money maker."

Lucius and Severus were sitting in the parlour again. While Lucius was bent over the paper reading the gossip column of all things, Severus was bent over ingredients and texts that he had always wanted to use but had never had the resources for. The Dark Lord's stores had been everything that he had imagined and more with leaves and ligaments that were so rare and powerful that he thought not even Dumbledore had ever laid eyes on them. To further shock him the Dark Lord had presented him with a long forgotten copy of _The Potions of the Darkness_ and told him to search for solutions there. So far it had been helpful in giving him ideas on how to hurt Potter and Black but it had nothing on how to cure Hermione.

"It wasn't meant to be bottled and sold, Lucius," Severus told him as he scrawled notes on a scrap bit of paper.

"Then what was it meant for?" Lucius asked.

"My own personal use," he said as he looked up from his paper, "I couldn't make it without the help of the school or the ministry as there are certain ingredients in it that are…potent. I chose the lesser of two evils."

"If you can really call Dumbledore the lesser," Malfoy smirked.

"Compared to all the paperwork and red tape I would have to cross if I went to the ministry, yes this time he is," Severus told him, "Look, I don't mean to be rude but can you please read that thing elsewhere? I only have an hour left."

"The Dark Lord wanted you supervised," Lucius told him nonchalantly, "Rather than alert anyone else to the situation he elected me while he takes rest."

Severus frowned.

"I don't like the idea of him alone with her," he muttered, "It doesn't feel right."

"You love the girl," Lucius rolled his eyes, "Knowing she's alone with any man but yourself will always feel wrong."

"I'm not in love with her Lucius," Severus growled, "You had best put it out of your mind."

"Perhaps you don't know it yet, but you are in love with her," Lucius told him, putting the paper down. "The sooner you accept it, the better."

"You're delusional."

"And you're being ignorant, do you hear me complain?"

Severus rolled his eyes at him again before looking back down at the text. He had just moved on to _The Potions of the Darkness_ and finally he had come across something useful.

**_Poisons and Bonds:_**_ Torture without ingestion_

_I have spent many years researching and revelling in pain. I've watched people burn, strangle, drown and stabbed many times over just to get a glimpse of it. Nothing, however, has ever been so satisfying, so thrilling, as watching one person suffer another person's physical pain and never die from it. It brings a smile to my face every time I think about how much agony I can put someone through, not only physically but emotionally, when they literally feel the pain that a loved one is going through._

_I was barely eighteen when I discovered something like this was even possible. I had been experimenting with the Draught of Living Death that afternoon, trying to find a way to make it so potent that it would slowly torture my victim into a permanent coma full of nightmares. Once I had completed the potion itself in its regular form I made quite a fortunate mistake by placing Acromantula venom in the bubbling liquid, rather than the Salamander Blood I had planned to use…_

Severus couldn't bear to read much more of it but managed to skim through and find out that instead of inducing nightmares, the author had created a bond between his two victims and while slowly poisoning one he was able to make the other feel exactly what they were going through without doing any real harm. While the scenario wasn't exactly the same, Severus could still garner some useful facts.

The first was that the Dark Lord and Hermione were bonded.

The second was that the Dark Lord wasn't really dying and Hermione was.

The third was that they could use the Dark Lord to tell how much time Hermione really had. Severus had assumed that he had been exaggerating before but he apparently hadn't been. Whatever Hermione's body suffered through, the Dark Lord's would suffer as well…

He suddenly sat up straight in his chair and looked wide eyed around the room. Lucius scrutinized him. Without warning the younger boy threw his chair aside and raced out of the room. It took Lucius a good second or two before he got over the shock and ran after him. He chased his friend down the hall and almost crashed into him when they stopped outside the Dark Lord's door.

"For Merlin's sake, Severus-"

"Shut up, Lucius," Severus hissed. He was peering through a crack in the doors that led to Voldemort's chamber. It was there that he kept Hermione in the middle of a comfortable four-poster bed. He had removed her outer robes and only her jeans and polo sweater remained, seeing as he'd also taken the care to remove her belt and shoes. She still looked icy and twitched on the odd occasion but other than that she looked perfectly safe in his presence, even if he was looking at her so strangely.

"You had better get out of this, Evans," Severus heard him whisper, "I've worked too long and too hard to let it all end like this and if you're my downfall I swear I'll make your afterlife hell."

Yet his actions contradicted his words. He was stroking her hair, hovering over her like a protective shield and there was a wariness about him that told Severus he was ready to destroy any threat that came through that door. Whether Hermione wanted it or not, he was unsure, but she now had a very formidable body guard.

"How many times have I told you that you're made for more than this?" Voldemort continued to speak to her, "How many times have I told you that we were destined for greatness? This is where you prove me right, Evans. This is where you show me what you're made of. I can feel the pain you're going through physically and it is exquisite. Merlin only knows what that potion is doing to your mind, but if it is half as bad as what it is doing to your body and you make it out of this you may actually earn some of my respect."

"We should leave," Lucius suddenly said, "He wouldn't want us-"

"At the moment I couldn't care less what he wants, Lucius," Severus hissed back at him, "I need to talk to him."

"You can't just go barging in there!" Lucius looked appalled at the idea.

"What am I supposed to do then? Wait until he comes out?"

"You two breathe like hypogriffs in heat." They suddenly heard from the bedroom, "Let him in Lucius, if he has a break through then I want to hear about it."

Severus slowly opened the door to see the glowing red eyes of the Dark Lord staring at him intently. He swallowed, straightened up and stared back at him, full in the face, doing his best not to flinch away.

"What do you have for me, Snape?" the man asked.

"A simple theory for the moment but before I can confirm it, I need you to answer a few questions for me, sir," Severus told him. The Dark lord thought about it for a few moments before giving him a tight nod to continue.

"Are Miss Evans and yourself bonded?" He asked.

The Dark Lord narrowed his eyes.

"Yes," he replied.

"Was the bond forged through a potion?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any of the potion left?"

"No."

"Could you make it again?"

"Yes."

Severus paused to think carefully about how to phrase his next question. If he said any part of it wrong it could very well be the last thing that left his lips.

"Would you, in order to save her," he began, "Be willing to open the bond more fully?"

For the first time, the Dark Lord looked confused.

"Elaborate." He demanded.

"At the moment you feel whatever Miss Evans feels," Severus stated, not needing to confirm it, "The definition of a magical bond clearly states that not only should you be able to feel everything, but you should be able to see everything, hear everything, even share her thoughts. Would I be correct in saying that you do not?"

"And how do you know this?" The Dark Lord asked him.

"If the bond had been fully formed you would be unconscious just like she is right now," He said bluntly, "If I find a way to open the bond fully, to connect you properly, then I can save her."

"How?"

"You would fall to the effects of the potion yourself," Severus told him, "But because you are connected, in theory, you would fall into her mind instead of your own because she is the one who drank the potion-"

"In _theory_?" the Dark Lord raised a muscle where his brow should have been.

"This is the first time my potion has ever been made," Severus told him, "Everything we do from here on out is just a theory. My point is that your mind is obviously stronger than hers, your _magic_ is obviously stronger than hers. If you can get inside her mind then you can overpower the illusion that it's created and snap her out of it."

"Why not just use Legillimancy then?" He asked, "It would certainly make this problem less…complicated."

"Forcing yourself into her head may cause damage while she is in this state," Severus told him.

"To her?"

"Or to you," he was told, "Anything is possible. While you may be stronger, she is already operating at her pique. There is more chance for you to be caught off guard by her defences. By entering her mind and not _forcing_ your way in, you won't have as much to fight in order to bring her back."

Doubt was clearly present on his serpentine face. He was unsure of what Hermione's reaction would be to his plan. Lucius was looking at him rather strangely too. But none of it mattered. It was the only to get everyone out of this mess he created. Hopefully no one would feel any pressure to torture him after he saved all their lives.

The Dark Lord glided over to where Severus was standing and peered into the black depths of his eyes, as though searching for any hint of untruth. Severus held his ground and braced himself for the impact of the Dark Lord's mind on his own but it never came. Instead he stood back and smirked at the boy.

"Your mother taught you well," he said. He waved his wand and a sheet of parchment suddenly appeared in his hand which he offered to Severus.

"This is the potion I made to bond Miss Evans to me. It didn't go nearly as well as I planned it the first time around. Do what you must to get me inside her mind."


End file.
